


summer dream

by milkandaliens



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Beaches, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, M/M, Mutual Pining, Road Trips, Stargazing, its mostly the 00line the others are just mentioned, jeno and hyuck are cousins, lowkey crack bcs norenminhyuck are Crackheads, renjun and yukhei are brothers, squint for luwoo and chensung, the beach ep no one asked for but i did anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-04 14:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15843198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkandaliens/pseuds/milkandaliens
Summary: In which Jeno, Jaemin, Renjun and Donghyuck go on a road trip one summer to spend their last days together before graduating college.And maybe they find love on the way.





	summer dream

**Author's Note:**

> first of all, thanks to saz my soulmate for helping me beta read this crap of a work and also constantly motivating me to finish it!! you're the baddest bih out there ily. also I didn't really plan on making it this long but Here We Are. I've had this idea since june and I just had to write it bcs I love the 00line so much?? and lastly, renjun actually has a love interest here but you gotta find out who insert eye emoji.

“Road trip!!” Donghyuck exclaimed cheerily as he got into the driver’s seat. It was an unusual sight, really. Donghyuck being energetic and not grumpy? Before 11AM? The world must be coming to an end soon.

Jeno put the rest of their stuff in the boot of the MPV before joining his cousin in the car. They drove to Jaemin’s, which was two blocks down, to fetch him and Renjun who decided to stay overnight at the younger boy’s place. Meanwhile, Donghyuck also decided to spend the night at Jeno’s place even if their houses were just next to each other.

The idea of a road trip was brought up by Jeno himself. The four of them wanted to spend the last of the days they would have together before graduating college and parting ways to go on with their lives. They didn’t have anywhere specific they wanted to go; the plan was to just drive away from the hustle and bustle of the city and stop at a random place to do whatever.

(“But you do realize that we have our finals coming up right after the summer break right?” Renjun had said.

The four of them were in Donghyuck’s bedroom one day, hanging out and eating snacks – mostly watermelons.

“It’s only for three days,” Donghyuck argued.

“Yeah. We can like, study at times during the trip,” Jaemin suggested.

“I don’t have a problem with it actually. I just thought you forgot about the finals.”

“Of course no one forgot about the finals, Injun. How is that possible?” Jeno had one eyebrow raised at the older boy.

Renjun only shrugged.

“If no one has any objections, then we’re going on that trip. Make yourselves free,” Donghyuck said.

Everyone cheered.)

They were pulling up in front of Jaemin’s house. Jaemin was trying his best to get Renjun’s attention, who was busy on his phone, but when he saw them he stopped. He ran over to Jeno’s side as the boy opened the door and embraced him tightly.

“Good morning!”

Jeno hugged him back. “Good morning to you, too, mister.”

Jaemin pecked his cheek before going around the car to hug Donghyuck and give him a kiss as well before joining Renjun in the back after putting his bag in the boot. Jeno took deep breaths to calm his heart.

Na Jaemin really was unhealthy for him.

After clicking their safety belts on (minus Renjun and Jaemin), Donghyuck started driving again.

  
—

  
Half an hour into the ride and it was starting to get boring. That, or they were just restless. Also, their butts were starting to hurt. There was also the occasional “Injun, put down your phone and look at the nice surroundings” from Jaemin.

“Pass me the aux cord,” Donghyuck told Jeno.

“I trust you to not play trash,” Jeno muttered.

“Don’t worry, bro.” At a red light, Donghyuck quickly connected the cable to his phone and pressed shuffle. “Oh, this is my favorite song,” he said as the introduction started to play and the light turned green.

Jeno held on tight to his armrest. He shared a worried glance with Jaemin at the back. Meanwhile, Renjun who had already put his phone away, started to nod his head to the rhythm.

“It’s not that ba–”

“ _CRAWLING IN MY SKIN, THESE WOUNDS THEY WILL NOT HEAL!!_ ” Donghyuck swerved the car to the left violently as he screamed the lyrics at the top of his lungs.

There was a loud bang as Renjun’s body hit the door and Jaemin came landing on him. Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin were also screaming, almost harmonizing with the song, but they had a different reason.

They were scared for their lives.

“STOP THE CAR, STOP THE CAR!! LEE DONGHYUCK!!” Jeno shouted and grabbed the steering wheel to stop the car from swerving and also to get it in the correct lane again while Jaemin tried to hold Donghyuck still on his seat and Renjun was still screaming.

When they finally managed to stop at the side of the road, Renjun held him in a chokehold and they made him and Jeno change places.

Never put your life in the hands of one Lee Donghyuck by letting him drive.

  
—

  
The ride with Jeno as the driver was much more relaxing, accompanied by some lo-fi music from Renjun’s playlist. He shook his head and tried to not let out a long and suffering sigh. Donghyuck’s taste in music ranged from ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ to ‘Bring Me To Life’. There was no inbetween.

It wasn’t trash, they just needed to remember to never let him drive ever again. Jeno really thought he wouldn’t live to experience graduation.

They were almost at the outskirts of the city by then. Their surroundings looked nice; no more billboards, skyscrapers or loud music. It was mostly green and tranquil.

“That place over there looks like a great place to take a picture,” Jaemin pointed in front of them.

Renjun shifted in his seat to have a look. “It does! Can we stop to take a picture?”

Who was Jeno to deny their request? Yes, he was the driver, but Jaemin looked so excited so he didn’t have the heart to say no. He stopped the car at the side.

Indeed it was a great place to take pictures. The place was a clearing that had a picturesque outlook of the city. Jeno wondered if it would look better at night because the view was just as beautiful even during the day. They were just down there an hour ago and now they were all the way up here, almost away from Seoul.

This trip better be a good one.

Renjun had forced his phone into Donghyuck’s hands and told him to snap away while he did some poses.

“Have you ever tried looking at the camera...”

“Shut up, Hyuck. Now make sure you get a beautiful picture of my beautiful side profile,” Renjun simply replied as he turned his head to the left and closed his eyes, showing his long lashes.

  
“I want only half of my body in the picture and make sure you get a clear view of the city, too,” Jaemin said as Jeno kneeled on the grass, his phone in hand.

He started adjusting the phone according to what the younger boy wanted. Jeno thought Jaemin looked more beautiful. _Jaemin_ was the view. He was sitting on the divider and looking downwards, posing for the camera.

Na Jaemin could do a cartwheel and stay in that position and Jeno would still find him beautiful than any other view he’s seen in his life.

The younger had to ask “Are you done?” to snap him out of his trance. Jeno blinked a few times and shook his head. His mouth also felt dry for some reason. Oh right, he had been gaping this whole time. He quickly shut his mouth.

“No,” he took a few snaps. “Okay.”

Jaemin changed to another pose and as Jeno was about to snap a picture, Renjun and Donghyuck came out of nowhere, photobombing him.

“Hey!”

Renjun snatched Jaemin’s phone from Jeno to see the pictures. Meanwhile, Donghyuck laughed as Jaemin hit him repeatedly. The two were blurry in most of the pictures except one; Renjun was smiling brightly, holding up two peace signs, Donghyuck had his tongue stuck out with a wink and also held up a peace sign while Jaemin looked pissed.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Donghyuck hugged himself but that clearly wasn’t protecting him from Jaemin’s slaps.

“Chill, Jaemin. Look, you’ve also got some nice pictures,” Renjun showed him the pictures Jeno took. Some were even candids of him admiring the view.

Jaemin noticeably softened a bit and sent one last glare to them. His face melted into a smile when he looked at Jeno. “Thank you!” he gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

One which Jeno wasn’t prepared for. He never was. Jaemin would glomp him and peck his cheek as they grew up together yet it still managed to throw him off guard. Jaemin did that to everyone but no one ever blushed as hard as he did.

Jeno just hoped he wasn’t obvious.

“Come on, let’s take a pic with all of us!” Renjun motioned Jeno to get in the frame, still holding Jaemin’s phone.

Renjun was in front, holding up a peace sign and behind him were Jeno and Jaemin. Jaemin had his arm around Jeno’s shoulder, causing the latter to place his hand on the younger boy’s waist. Donghyuck was at the back, arms in the air, creating a camera trick in which he had the whole city in his arms.

Only half of Renjun’s face was in the frame and he did that intentionally to fit all of them in. When he started counting, Jaemin told Jeno to throw fingers hearts at the camera.

“1, 2... there!” Renjun handed the phone back to Jaemin. He massaged his arm. “You guys are too tall for me...”

“We look cute,” Jaemin told Jeno before breaking into a fit of giggles.

“Excuse you, I am the cutest,” Donghyuck said.

“Whatever floats your boat, Hyuck. Let’s get going,” Jeno headed to the car, the rest following suit.

Donghyuck rolled his eyes before getting in the car as well.

  
—

  
Donghyuck fanned himself with his shirt in the car. “It’s getting hot, can you turn up the AC?”

Jeno complied.

About 45 minutes later, they had cooled down already but Jeno didn’t increase the temperature. Jaemin, who brought his jacket along to avoid the sunlight on his skin in the car, had already wrapped himself up in it.

Renjun hugged himself as he shivered, teeth chattering. It was an irony to see someone in this situation during summer but it really was cold in the car. “Do you mind sharing your jacket with me?” he asked.

Jaemin couldn’t say no. Not when Renjun had goosebumps all over his skin and was shivering like he could turn into ice any moment.

“Of course not, Injun,” he took off his sweater, put one arm in the left sleeve and motioned the older boy to put one of his arms in the right sleeve. They were huddled close together and Jaemin cuddled him to give some body heat. That, and he loved cuddles as well so it was a win-win situation.

Renjun fell asleep not long after, his head in the crook of Jaemin’s neck. He also dozed off shortly with the soothing lo-fi music from the stereo as a lullaby.

  
—

  
Jeno noticed it was quieter in the car. Beside him, Donghyuck was busy texting someone, his boyfriend probably. Jeno looked into the rear view mirror and got his answer; Renjun and Jaemin were asleep. And his heart clenched– swelled? He couldn’t really tell. The image was just too cute that he almost cried.

When he stopped at an R&R because his cousin needed a bathroom break, he took out his phone and snapped several pictures of Renjun and Jaemin. This wasn’t a breach of privacy, right? They just looked extremely cute sharing a jacket and probably even cuddling under it that Jeno couldn’t help it. This was probably going to be his phone wallpaper.

Yes, he really was about to change his wallpaper from the one where he and Jaemin were blowing bubblegum in high school. Or not. He didn’t know yet. He would decide later.

Donghyuck came back just as Jeno put his phone away. “So, where are we heading to?”

“Somewhere those two would love,” Jeno smiled albeit mischievously, gesturing to the two sleeping boys at the back.

It took Donghyuck a few seconds to get what Jeno said. He also smirked. “I see. Ugh, your mind.”

“Powerful, I know.”

  
—

  
“Alright,” Jeno said as he stopped the car at the roadside. “We’re here.”

“You might wanna find somewhere to park. Maybe there,” Donghyuck pointed to a spot just metres away.

After they settled at a parking spot, Jeno turned around to wake the still sleeping (and still wrapped around each other) Renjun and Jaemin, while his cousin went to get all the equipment they needed. They looked so peaceful that he almost felt guilty to disturb them. He gently touched Renjun’s knee as he was the closest to him.

“Renjun,” he said softly. “Injun-ah. Huang Renjun.” Jeno sighed and strained his arm to reach Jaemin. “Nana, wake up. Jaemin, please.”

Donghyuck was having none of it, though. Basket in hand and a mat between his neck, he pulled the door on Jaemin’s side open and shouted, “BEACH!!”

Jaemin knocked his knee on the front seat at the same time Renjun’s head hit his chin. Jeno grimaced, feeling secondhand pain, but the two seemed to not give two shits at all as they said “Beach?!” in unison, almost tearing Jaemin’s jacket off their body and dashing out of the vehicle, knocking down Donghyuck in the process (no beach equipments were harmed).

Jeno undid his seatbelt, locked the car doors and went around to help Donghyuck stand up and carry the mat (not before having the laugh of his life and getting kicked in the shin) and they followed their two friends who were already far ahead.

“Beach!” he could hear Jaemin shout, earning the boy weird stares.

“Yes, beach!” Renjun shouted back.

“We’re at the beach!”

“We’re at the beach!” Renjun echoed, starting to run around Jaemin.

“Physical age: 24, mental age: 4,” Donghyuck said, amused.

Jeno wasn’t paying attention to his cousin. All he could see was Jaemin smiling ever so brightly, brighter than the sun even, that Jeno thought he would go blind if he stared any longer. Jaemin was _glowing_ and he was convinced that the younger boy was an angel.

Jeno had stopped walking then. Donghyuck had thought that he wanted to sit at this spot so he set the basket down, took the mat from Jeno and spread it. Jeno was brought out of his trance when the boy he was admiring called him.

“Jeno, come on!” Jaemin ran back towards him and grabbed his arm. He started running to the sea, dragging Jeno along. Jeno almost tripped on his own feet several times because he wasn’t watching where he was going. All he saw now was Jaemin’s back and his hand around his wrist.

‘ _No, it’s because Nana was in the track and field club back in high school and he runs ridiculously fast,_ ’ he tried to convince himself.

They were next to Renjun who was taking pictures of the beautiful scenery in front of them, where the sky met the sea, but Jaemin was still dragging him. The lower part of Jeno’s jeans were now soaked.

“Hey, wait. We need to get changed first.”

Jaemin, who wore shorts that day, just realized what he did. He gasped. “I’m sorry, oh God. Yeah, you’re right. We should get changed.”

“How dare you guys leave me alone! Top 10 anime betrayals,” came Donghyuck’s voice from a distance.

Oh right, Jeno remembered. It wasn’t his fault, though, right? After all, Jaemin was the one who started dragging him.

Once again, Donghyuck carried the beach equipments and put them down. He spread the mat again with a huff. Jeno made his way to Donghyuck with Jaemin, still holding onto his hand and only smiling sheepishly when his cousin glared at him.

“Sorry, Hyuck,” Jaemin apologized and kissed him on the cheek.

“Cheer up, bro. Here, have a watermelon,” Jeno fed him a slice of the fruit from the basket. “You’ll get reminded of Mark hyung and you’ll be happy. Happy thoughts, okay?” he flashed his eye smile.

Jaemin only stifled his laughter because no one could miss the sarcasm dripping from Jeno’s voice.

Donghyuck slapped Jeno’s hand away, munching angrily on the watermelon. “Don’t treat me like a baby,” he said as some of the watermelon juice dripped down his chin.

Jeno ignored him and only took a tissue to wipe his chin. “But you’re my baby cousin. I must protect you.”

Donghyuck scowled at him, but with watermelon still in his mouth, he looked like an angry hamster. Jaemin couldn’t hold in his laughter anymore.

“Jeno, you’re–” he laughed some more, “–you’re like only two months older.”

“Still older,” Jeno argued.

“Ooh, who packed watermelons?” Renjun suddenly appeared, pocketing his phone.

“I’m guessing it’s Jeno’s mom!”

“Correct, Jaemin,” Jeno said proudly.

“Cool,” Renjun said as he took a slice. He sat down on the mat and reached for something in his bag. He pulled out a bottle of sunblock. “Here, if anyone wants to go swim,” he tossed the object to Donghyuck.

The younger boy caught it neatly and passed it to Jaemin. “Pass. I wanna get that tan.”

“You’re tanned already, but okay,” Jeno said. He wondered just how much more tanned his cousin wanted to get. It didn’t matter, he was beautiful either way.

Donghyuck took off his floral tee and quickly changed into his speedo. “I’m swim! Bye, hoes,” he said and ran.

Jaemin shrugged off his plaid shirt and took off his white tank top. He gave Jeno the sunblock. “Do you mind?” He turned his back.

“Of course not,” he took the cream, poured a generous amount onto his palm and rubbed it on Jaemin’s back.

The latter sighed in content. “I bet you give great back massages, too.”

“Hyuck can confirm that.”

Jaemin turned his whole body around and looked at Jeno, betrayal plastered on his face. “You never told me!”

“Well, you never asked,” Jeno simply replied.

Jaemin’s eyes narrowed into slits but he turned around again, motioning for Jeno to continue applying sunblock on his back. After Jeno was done, he drew a heart.

“Hey! I’m gonna get a weird-looking tan if you do that,” Jaemin said playfully.

“It’s a cute heart. What’s so bad about it?”

Jeno watched as the younger boy applied more sunblock on his unblemished skin. He wanted to touch it, to see how it felt on his fingertips. How it would look if he left– Jeno mentally slapped himself for thinking such things. He didn’t want to be a creep.

“–no. Hey,” Jaemin snapped his fingers in front of Jeno’s face.

He blinked. “Huh?”

“I said, do you want me to apply sunblock on your back?”

“Oh. Yeah, sure. Please.” He took off his plain blue shirt and turned his back to Jaemin. Jeno involuntarily tensed under his touch. It wasn’t everyday that he had Jaemin touching his skin. He might need some getting used to this. Wait, wha–

Jaemin placed his hands on Jeno’s shoulders and right next to his ear, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jeno had fair skin. Everyone had said so. He just hoped that it wouldn’t betray him by turning as red as a cherry. Renjun was still there, munching on slices of watermelons while scrolling through social media, probably. Jeno looked at him, silently pleading for help even if the older boy would never notice it.

Or so he thought.

“I don’t even have to look up from my phone to feel the sexual tension,” Renjun said nonchalantly.

What the fuckles.

Suddenly, everything fell silent and it seemed like the world stopped spinning. Jeno was sure his whole body turned red and it wasn’t even because of the heat. But he would like to thank the heavens for Jaemin only laughed it off (it sounded like angels singing) and slapped his back, smearing some cream on that spot.

“Renjun, you’re funny. Did you know that?”

“Thanks, I guess?” he said, eyes still glued to his phone.

“Jeno, were you having dirty thoughts?” he turned to Jeno now.

Jeno only pushed Jaemin back, making him land on his butt and ordered him to continue rubbing the sunblock on his back. “Idiot. Both of you are. And Hyuck, too,” he grunted. Jeno hastily applied cream to whatever part of his body his hand could reach, not caring if he missed some places and stood up. Jaemin followed suit.

“We going airplane emoji swimming! What about you, Injun?” Jaemin asked.

Renjun’s mouth fell open and chunks of watermelon fell onto his lap. “Na Jaemin, did you really just say that out loud?”

“We’re going first, then,” Jeno heard the boy beside him say before he was dragged to the sea, yet again.

  
—

  
Renjun unbuttoned his white dress shirt as it was getting quite hot. He then decided to start a livestream. While waiting for at least 100 people to join, he did several cute poses.

**xuxi.huang:** _stop acting cute_

Renjun laughed. “Hi, gege.” He read some comments under his brother’s.

**kimjwoos:** _button up your shirt young man_

**marklee99:** _you look fine asf injun (dont tell hyuck)_

  **jisungpwark:** _i would dump my boyfriend for you_

And some other from people from college. He decided to reply to his close friends.

“Jungwoo hyung, I’m a grown man. Also, please make sure my brother doesn’t burn the house down while I’m away. Thanks, Mark hyung. No homo, though. Jisung, are you sure about that? Chenle won’t be very happy if he saw this.”

**jisungpwark:** _jk ofc lol in other words youre hot is all_

He read some more comments.

“Yup, I’m at the beach. Why am I not swimming? Currently, my friends are doing some dumb shit. It’s embarrassing. I can’t believe these crackheads are my friends.”

He flipped to the back camera, filming his three friends in the water. For some reason, Jeno was running to the shore while Jaemin was laughing so hard he almost drowned and Donghyuck was fuming.

“LEE JENO, YOU REALLY PULLED MY UNDERWEAR OFF OF ME AND NOW I CAN’T FIND IT!!”

Renjun flipped to the front camera again, making sure he got a good angle of his face before talking again. “This is what I have to deal with everyday.”

Silence as he read more comments. Most of them were talking about how hot he looked with his shirt undone, how they loved him and... about some wigs? He frowned. What is up with girls from school?

“Um... I’m not quite ready to be a father yet. I’m skinny? Thanks... I snapped? Did you just call me ‘sis’? Huh.”

Donghyuck, who had somehow managed to find his underwear again, came to him. “Hey, Injun. Have I tanned?” he proceeded to flex his arms and back, which was unnecessary if you asked Renjun because he only needed to see Donghyuck’s skin.

But then, a light bulb went off in his head and he had an idea. He smirked. “Mark hyung, I hope you’re still here. Look at this,” he flipped to the back camera and filmed the younger boy. “Wow~” he whistled. “Beautiful. Look at that melanin! Mmm, we love a dark chocolate king. Yes, you go, Hyuck,” he said as Donghyuck striked several more poses.

**marklee99:** _thats my boyfriend everyone. look at him. beautiful. lee donghyuck is coming for my wig._

“Hyuck, look,” he flipped to the front camera, Donghyuck also in the frame this time as he read his boyfriend’s comment.

“Hey, babe. I miss you already.”

Renjun pushed him out of the frame. “Stop flirting right in front of my watermelon in my livestream.”

“Looks like someone is against our relationship, boohoo. Okay, then. Bye, babe. I’ll call you later,” Donghyuck blew a kiss to the camera even though he wasn’t in the frame and joined Jeno and Jaemin in the water again.

The comments started coming in. Not that he felt uncomfortable but sometimes they could be really weird it was almost funny. But now it was mostly the question he was frequently asked.

“Yes, I’m currently single. My sexuality is watermelon.”

**xuxi.huang:** _just say youre gay and go_

**kimjwoos:** _gay_

**chenle01:** _homo_

Renjun rolled his eyes. “I’m not exactly gay, though. Oh hi, Chenle. How long have you been here for? Did you see what Jisung said?”

**chenle01:** _for abt 10 mins? i didnt, what did he say_

“Nothing much,” he lied. “Just his undying love for you.”

**marklee99:** _nice save_

**chenle01:** _lmao thats cute_

Jaemin suddenly came to his side and gave him a peck on his cheek. Renjun groaned and wiped it.

“You’re getting sand and seawater on my cheek! Go kiss someone else. Maybe Jeno.”

“I can’t at the moment,” Jaemin replied and looked somewhere else.

Renjun briefly took note of how his friend didn’t protest on kissing Jeno (but Jaemin was born a flirt anyway. He kisses literally everyone. He probably blew kisses to the doctor in the womb when his mother was doing the ultrasound thingy or something). He followed Jaemin’s gaze and immediately flipped to the back camera.

Donghyuck was smoothing the sand that was enveloping Jeno’s whole body except for his face. This time, almost everyone at the beach was staring at them. What happened next didn’t help either.

“I’M THE SAND GUARDIAN, GUARDIAN OF THE SAND!!” Jeno shouted.

“POSEIDON QUIVERS BEFORE HIM!!” Donghyuck shouted next.

And with his whole chest, Jeno shouted, “FUCK OFF!” to the sea.

“Oh, I see,” Renjun finally replied Jaemin, flipping to the front camera again.

“What are you doing?” Jaemin asked but his question was immediately answered when he looked at the older boy’s phone. He went into the frame and smiled brightly. “Hello, ladies. Na Jaemin oppa is here,” he said with a wink.

“Please never say that ever again. Also, Jaemin, you’re gay,” Renjun reminded him.

“You right, lmao.”

Renjun gave him a look of disbelief.

**jisungpwark:** _DID THAT BITCH JUST SAY LMAO OUT LOUD_

**xuxi.huang:** _this is blasphemy_

**marklee99:** _na jaemin is cancelled_

**kimjwoos:** _jaemin sweaty,,,_

**chenle01:** _no everyone im not friends w jaemin_

Renjun’s view count went from 342 to 116 in the blink of an eye. He was appalled. “The fuck, get out of my livestream!”

“Bye, ladies~” Jaemin said one last time before joining his friends.

Renjun cleared his throat. “U-uh, let’s do a Q&A!” he tried his best to save whatever was left of his dignity that was ruined by his friend. “What do you guys wanna ask me?”

Comments immediately came flooding in that it all looked like a blur of white to Renjun. He pressed at a spot to hold the comments for awhile. Apparently, it wasn’t a pleasant question.

“Oh, wow,” Renjun laughed nervously. “I do not tolerate violence... please, no choking in this household. I’m not choking anyone.”

He removed his finger from the screen and let the comments go by.

“Good question! What to do when it gets too hot? Eat watermelons, of course!” Renjun took a bite of the watermelon for emphasis. “I usually sit in front of the fan, eating a watermelon or ice cream or whatever cold.”

**marklee99:** _tru tru watermelons are the SHIT_

“Mark hyung is a watermelon enthusiast,” he laughed. “He eats them even when it’s not summer for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. I bet he’d even marry a watermelon if given the chance. Donghyuck sweetie, I’m so sorry for you. Let’s see another question.”

He squinted to have a better look at any comment that could possibly grab his attention.

“Hm... this one. What’s a great way to spend the summer? Listen to summer songs, go out with friends– that’s right! I’m on a road trip with my friends right now. Although we haven’t done much yet, I can tell it’ll be great. As for summer songs, I recommend ‘Power Up’ by Red Velvet and ‘Summer 127’ by SR15B. Oh, did someone ask who my bias is? I like–”

“Injun, come join us!” Jeno called from afar.

He only gave his three friends a thumbs up. “Okay, I guess that’s all for today. I’m gonna spend time with my friends. Thanks for joining my livestream!”

He read some comments which were mostly telling him they loved him and the like. Some also told him that he had very great taste in music. Renjun smiled to himself and waved goodbye to the camera.

“Oh right! I just remembered something,” he had a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Please pray for #HuangRenJun1stWin.”

**chenle01:** _whats that supposed to mean_

**jisungpwark:** _could it possibly be what im thinking abt..?_

**marklee99:** _mr huang you make bad decisions most of the time_

**kimjwoos:** _#HuangRenjun1stWin_

**xuxi.huang:** _idk what youre planning but you go lil bro! go get it, i love u always_

“Aw, that was sweet, gege. Okay, bye everyone!”

After turning off the livestream, Renjun shrugged off his dress shirt and got his swimming trunks on before running to Jeno who was sitting alone now. Thankfully, he wasn’t covered in sand anymore.

  
—

  
“Hey, Injun.”

“Where are Hyuck and Jaemin?”

Jeno stood up and took Renjun’s hand. “In the sea. Let’s go!”

“I don’t wanna play with you anymore!” They heard Donghyuck shout when they neared the sea.

Jaemin shielded his eyes just in time when the older boy splashed seawater towards him and stomped to the shore. “Geez, you’re so dramatic!” he called out to Donghyuck’s retreating (and very beautifully tanned, he must admit) figure.

“Whatever!” Donghyuck’s expression suddenly changed into a bright one when he saw Renjun. “Injunnie, come play with me!” he dragged the boy with him, leaving Jeno with Jaemin who was still in the water.

Jeno went into the water to the younger boy and looked at him skeptically. “What did you do to him?” he pointed towards the general direction of his cousin.

Jaemin hid half of his face underwater and looked up at him slyly. There were bubbles forming under his nose and Jeno could tell he was giggling. He emerged his face and said, “Nothing.” He held out his hand to Jeno. “Help me up.”

Trusting that the younger boy wouldn’t do anything to him – that was where Jeno was very wrong – Jaemin pulled Jeno into the water, not even giving him the chance to let out a yelp.

Jeno took a big gasp of oxygen when he emerged his head from underwater. “You–!” he was cut short when Jaemin pulled him into a tight hug. It felt like he was underwater again. He couldn’t breathe. Not because Jaemin was hugging him too tight, his heart just _stopped_ beating.

Jeno had four choices;  
a) let Nana hug him  
b) hug Nana back  
c) push Nana away because what the fuck, what would people think when they see two shirtless boys hugging in the sea, Jeno still had some rationality in him, mind you, he doesn’t like displaying affection in public and making everyone else uncomfortable (or what Hyuck would say ‘right in front of my salad’) (Jeno still didn’t understand why everyone says that)  
d) just. die.

Anyways, Jeno just prayed to God that he wouldn’t pop a boner because Jaemin would sure as hell feel it. It wasn’t his fault, okay. Jaemin just decided to hug him out of nowhere, pressed their bodies together and now all Jeno felt was skin on skin.

Jeno’s chaotic gay train of thought was interrupted when Jaemin finally spoke again after what felt like an eternity.

“I’m sorry. Would you please hug me back now?”

What was Jeno gonna do? Say no?

And so, Jeno wrapped his arms around Jaemin’s body and they stayed like that for a minute or two. Jeno buried his face in the crook of Jaemin’s neck because he felt so so so embarrassed, he could practically feel the stares from everyone.

Sure, he has hugged the younger boy on multiple occasions ever since they were kids, but never shirtless and never in front of a lot of people, let alone _strangers_. He felt very _vulnerable_ now, so exposed. Not because he was shirtless or anything (they’ve been naked around each other when they were kids, did that count?), but because he was sure that Jaemin could feel his heart beating 666 times per second.

He could feel the younger boy’s heartbeat on his chest but Jeno didn’t want to get his hopes up. Maybe that was just his own heartbeat.

“You give the warmest hugs,” Jaemin said.

“Are you sure it’s not the summer heat?” Jeno’s voice came out muffled against Jaemin’s skin.

“Hey, gay boys!” came Donghyuck’s voice from the shore. He had his arm looped around Renjun’s.

Jeno removed his head from the crook of Jaemin’s neck, resting on the younger boy’s shoulder now to look at Donghyuck. He didn’t want to pull away from the hug just yet.

“Let’s play beach volleyball!” Renjun shouted.

  
—

  
Jeno got into a team with Donghyuck, leaving Jaemin with Renjun. Apparently, his friends were busy setting up the net while he was hugging Jaemin back in the sea and feeling like he could explode any moment. Well, that was embarrassing.

After discussing positions and flipping a coin, Donghyuck decided that he would be setter, automatically making Jeno the spiker and their team would be serving first.

Before they got into their positions, Jaemin came over and stared Jeno down through the net.

“I won’t lose to you.”

“Bring it on,” Jeno replied and highfived his cousin.

Losers would have to pay for their meals over the next two days of the trip.

  
—

  
Three sets later, Team RenMin won and Renjun had to run to the other side of the court to stop Donghyuck from landing a punch on his cousin and crying tears of Broke™. Donghyuck was straddling Jeno and it looked like he would pass out any moment because of the younger boy’s weight.

“I trusted you, Lee Jeno! I put my all into giving the best tosses in the world, I wasn’t the setter of the volleyball team back in school for nothing! Why did you keep missing them?!” Donghyuck would’ve grabbed the collar of Jeno’s shirt but because the latter was shirtless, he resorted to grabbing his shoulders and shaking the brain cells out of him.

“Hyuck, my bro. If you were in my shoes, you’d understand,” he managed to say.

Jaemin went over to help Renjun pull Donghyuck away from Jeno.

Who thought it was the best idea to make Jaemin middle blocker? All Jeno could see when he went in for a spike was Jaemin’s stupidly pretty face so he kept missing the ball. Jaemin then just pushed the ball back into Jeno’s side of the court and that was how his team won. It wasn’t entirely Jeno’s fault either. Donghyuck wasn’t even putting effort into saving the ball.

“I’m used to being setter! I’ve never played beach volleyball before or even being in a team of two!” was all Donghyuck had said to defend himself when Jeno pointed that out.

(Making Jaemin middle blocker was Renjun’s idea, of course. But Jeno didn’t need to know that.)

Jaemin helped Jeno up and cleared his throat before facing Donghyuck who was still being held back by Renjun. He forced a smile to somehow lighten up the mood. “Good game. Let’s wash up and get going to our next destination!”

  
—

  
They washed up at the showers nearby and decided to go into the souvenir store next to the beach just because. The bell jingled above their heads when Jaemin pushed the door open (“Jaemin, it clearly says ‘Pull’, are you illiterate?” Donghyuck had said).

“Hey, Hyuck,” Renjun said as he linked arms with said boy. “Don’t you think that keychain looks like updog?”

“Wha–” Donghyuck was dragged away before he could even question anything.

Jeno was the last one to enter, closed the glass door behind him and looked at Jaemin. “What’s updog?”

“Nothing much. How about you?”

“What?”

Jaemin grabbed his hand and pointed to some straw hats, changing the subject. “This one looks cute, doesn’t it?” he then put it on his head.

“Anything looks good on you.”

“You’re no fun,” Jaemin pouted. He took a pair of funny-looking shades, one where you’d see those people with hoodies in the meme videos wear, and put it on. “How do I look now?” he said before laughing.

“Still good. You’re simply just beautiful,” Jeno said. He really meant it. He thought that Na Jaemin could just wear nothing and still look beautiful but that clearly sounded very wrong so he quickly threw the thought away. God, can he just stop having weird thoughts for once?

But what Jeno said had caused the boy to stop laughing. Jaemin took off the shades and looked at Jeno with an expression that he couldn’t quite read.

‘ _Oh shit, did I say something wrong?_ ’

  
—

  
“Renjun, you haven’t answered my question yet,” Donghyuck tried to get the older boy’s attention but the latter was too busy checking out the shorts on sale. “What’s updog?” He genuinely wanted to know.

No reply.

_‘Fine, then,’_ he rolled his eyes. Maybe he could just google it. He turned around to walk away when he saw masks. Scary masks. And Renjun was one hell of a pussy. He didn’t even need to take the vampire one with blood all over it, he just needed the mask of Hulk to make Renjun piss himself.

Donghyuck took it and put it over his face. He walked over to his friend again and tapped his shoulder.

Renjun clicked his tongue. “What is it? Hold up, I’m just checking these cool–” he turned around and when he saw the figure, he screamed and slapped the terrifying green monster all the way to the corner of the shop.

What Donghyuck learned today:  
\- never mess with Huang Renjun  
\- Huang Renjun may be small but the power he has certainly isn’t

You learn something new everyday.

  
—

  
“Jeno–”

“What are you two doing?”

Jeno didn’t get to hear the rest of whatever Jaemin had to say when Renjun and Donghyuck who had a bruised left cheek came around.

“Bro, what happened to your face?”

“It’s nothing you need to know,” Donghyuck said dismissively. “Oh, Jaemin. That’s a very fashionable pair of shades you got there,” he pointed to the ones in Jaemin’s hand.

Renjun snickered from behind him. “I’d say the hat he’s wearing is more fashionable.”

Which, it was, actually. Jeno wasn’t sure if his cousin was being serious or not when he heard the next thing that came out of his mouth.

“Yep, that’s it!” Donghyuck clapped his hands together. “I’m getting all four of us matching pairs of it!”

“Pass,” Renjun said almost immediately.

“No, Injun. We have to match. We’re the bestest best friends there is out there,” Donghyuck said as he took three more pairs of the shades and the one from Jaemin’s hand before heading to the cashier.

“Are you fucking serious?!” Renjun’s voice went up three octaves and followed his friend, still trying to protest.

Jeno looked at Jaemin who still had the straw hat on. “It does look good on you.” He took it off the younger boy’s head. “I’m getting this for you.”

The last thing Jeno saw before turning around to go to the cashier was the blush on Jaemin’s face and a damn cute smile.

  
—

  
“These are too small for my face. For all of our faces, in fact,” Jeno stated.

“We could do those kind of videos. You know, with our hoodies,” Donghyuck said.

“Please count me out,” Renjun objected, no longer cuddling with Jaemin.

They were back in the car and Jeno was still the driver. They decided to drive to wherever for a while, admiring the view of the sea. Renjun’s whole face was glued to the window along with his phone, snapping pictures aggressively, while Jaemin only took in the breathtaking view, eyes sparkling.

Na Jaemin is just so _pretty_ , Jeno noted as he stole a glance at the boy through the rear view mirror. He wanted to stop the car, go to the back and just _kiss_ the boy. Forget about Renjun and Donghyuck.

But, no. Jeno didn’t want to do that ‘right in front of Hyuck’s salad’.

Twenty minutes passed by and they spotted an ice cream stall.

“Is anyone up for ice cream? Cause I sure am. Jeno, stop the car,” Donghyuck told his cousin.

Mint chocolate chip for Renjun, vanilla ice cream for Jeno, Donghyuck got cookie dough and Jaemin got bubblegum flavored ice cream. Jeno ended up paying for their ice cream because his cousin ‘wasn’t ready to be broke yet’. They went to the playground beside the stall to finish up their ice cream.

There wasn’t a single soul except for them. Probably because it was too hot, or everyone decided to spend the summer at the beach. The four of them sat at a four-seat seesaw, which gave them a great view of the sea. Renjun and Donghyuck were on one end while Jeno sat with Jaemin on the other. It was cute how the latter had the straw hat that Jeno bought for him hanging on his neck by the string.

It was perfect; having good ice cream with good company _and_ a good view. Jaemin rested his head on Jeno’s back.

“Have you finished your ice cream?” Jeno asked.

“Yeah.”

“That fast?”

“It was delicious, so…” Jeno could feel Jaemin shrug and wrap his arms around Jeno’s waist. Jeno stroked the back of the younger boy’s hand with his left.

Across them, Renjun was bickering with Donghyuck because the latter got some of his ice cream on Renjun’s and now it was disgusting.

“Lick this off! Don’t even try to touch my ice cream ever again or I’m pushing you off of this seesaw!”

Donghyuck grabbed the handle tightly by reflex.

Jeno had finished his ice cream by then and was in his own world, still stroking Jaemin’s hand absentmindedly. He snapped out of it when the younger boy banged his head on his back, but not hard enough to hurt him or Jaemin’s head.

“Jeno,” he whined.

“What?”

“I said, I like your smell.”

Jeno furrowed his brows even though Jaemin couldn’t see it. “You sound like a creep.”

Jaemin only planted his face on his back and inhaled deeply, completely ignoring what Jeno just said. “Didn’t mean to. But can’t help it,” he mumbled.

“Do you do this to everyone? Just like how you kiss every breathing organism?”

“Do what?”

Jeno waved his hand vaguely. “Sniff people.”

“No. Only y–”

Suddenly, the seesaw violently rocked, sending them upwards. Had Jeno not grabbed the handle, both he and Jaemin would probably be in space by now. He also felt like his head would explode because this time, Jaemin really was hugging him tightly. Very tightly.

“What the–!” Jeno cried out.

Renjun was also crying out in pain, the impact of the seat hitting the ground having travelled to his butt in a millisecond. Apparently, Jeno’s bitchass cousin had jumped and purposely landed his butt on the seat for the hell of it.

When Jeno and Jaemin were back on the ground, Jeno dashed towards his cousin to strangle him because what the fuck, how dare he ruin the moment he was having with Jaemin, but most importantly, he and Jaemin wouldn’t even be in Korea anymore because they were really _thisclose_ to flying away. Also, poor Injun would’ve been paralyzed if his butt hit the ground any harder.

Donghyuck ran away screaming. Jaemin had his phone out, filming the shit the two cousins were doing while Renjun was at the other end of the playground (wait, when did he reach there?), busy taking some selfies with the sea as background.

“LEE DONGHYUCK, YOU BOUTTA CATCH THESE HANDS!!”

“JENO, I’M SORRY! I’LL GIVE YOU THE NETFLIX PASSWORD IF YOU LET ME LIVE, PLEASE!!”

Donghyuck was still running around the playground while Jeno rummaged through Renjun’s bag and took his selfie stick. He chased his cousin again.

“PUT THAT DOWN, JENO!”

“Jaemin, mind explaining why Jeno is chasing Hyuck around with my selfie stick?” Renjun came back to Jaemin’s side, watching as the boy filmed the two while trying his best to hold in his laughter.

Jeno finally caught up with Donghyuck, raised the stick above his head and landed a hard blow on the latter’s butt. Donghyuck fell down and feigned death.

“Jeno: 1, Donghyuck: 0. Stay tuned for the next match,” Jaemin said before he stopped recording. He turned to Renjun. “Injunnie, let’s go play!”

Jeno was panting. He was about to go back to the seesaw but neither Renjun nor Jaemin were there.

“Everyone! I’m the prince of the playground!” Renjun shouted from the top of the slide. Jaemin who was next to him only looked at the boy fondly.

Jeno placed the selfie stick on Donghyuck’s back and made his way to the duo. He looked up at Jaemin and said, “You look like you’re looking at your son.”

“Renjun is small enough to be my son.”

“I’m older than you, Na Jaemin!” Renjun raised his voice and pushed the boy lightly.

But Jaemin’s extra ass decided to overreact and now he was falling forwards to Jeno who was about one foot below him. Jeno’s first instinct was to stretch his arms out and catch Jaemin, like any other sane human being would do. As expected, the younger boy fell into Jeno’s arms like some princess.

Donghyuck made sure to get a picture of it. Renjun, too. Great minds do think alike.

“Jaemin, get off. I’m losing balance.”

Jaemin was stubborn. They ended up falling anyway, Jeno landing hard on his butt with a thud. Jaemin was now laying on Jeno’s chest, the latter still holding him protectively. Jaemin pulled away to look at him.

“Thanks for saving me, Romeo,” he grinned and kissed Jeno on the cheek.

Na Jaemin was going to be the death of him one day.

When he finally got off of Jeno, Renjun and Donghyuck were at the other side of the playground. The sight they saw was... one that they would see in their nightmares. Or at least for Jeno. Donghyuck was pole dancing on a pole attached to the climbing frame whilst Renjun filmed and hyped him up.

“Work it, Hyuck! Yes, we stan a dancing king!”

Jeno fell to his knees. Jaemin attempted to pull him back on his feet but his eyes were still on Donghyuck.

The boy slid down the pole one last time before telling Renjun to stop filming. “Your turn, Injun!”

“Renjun, no,” Jeno said.

Renjun got on the pole and climbed up, spinning in circles right after. When he saw this, Jaemin immediately let go of Jeno, making him fall back to the ground. He took out his phone to film Renjun and whistled.

How dare Jaemin. Top 10 anime betrayals.

“Wow, look at that! ‘Sexy’ is Renjun’s middle name! Yes, king. Yes, look at that ass.”

Donghyuck watched proudly from the side. “I taught you well, Injun,” he said as he wiped away invisible tears.

Renjun blew a kiss to Jaemin’s camera and the latter held his chest. “A heartthrob! Huang Renjun, indeed!”

Renjun came down from the pole. “Jaemin, you’re next.”

Jaemin ended the video with a zoom into Renjun’s crotch and pocketed his phone. He licked his lips as he rolled up his... already rolled up sleeves and started to make his way towards the pole but Jeno quickly got back on his feet and ran towards Jaemin, hugging him tightly to prevent him from moving. “Do you even realize where we are now? We’re at a children’s playground, please keep everything PG.”

“No jam, Jeno,” Renjun pouted.

Jaemin patted Jeno’s hand lightly, telling him to release his hold. Jeno let go of him but still held onto his hand just in case.

“Shall I teach you?” Donghyuck offered innocently.

“No! Just so you know, I regret being related to you and sharing the same last name.”

“Then maybe you could get married to Jaemin and change it. How does ‘Na Jeno’ sound?” Renjun chimed in.

“Perfect!” Donghyuck highfived him.

“I-I’m not ready for marriage yet, please don’t,” Jaemin said, face flushed.

Jeno detached his hand from Jaemin’s, feeling his own face turn red as well.

But Jaemin didn’t say no to marrying Jeno either. He probably had a chance.

However, Renjun and Donghyuck probably wouldn’t get the chance to attend his wedding with Jaemin because he was now chasing both of them around the playground with the selfie stick once again.

“IF I CATCH ANY OF YOU, YOU’RE DEAD MEAT!!”

  
—

  
The result of the scuffle was:  
\- Donghyuck climbed a tree  
\- Jeno managed to climb that tree as well and they had a wrestle on the tree branch  
\- Jaemin had to cushion the ground with his and Renjun’s bags to avoid any broken bones  
\- The two cousins indeed fell to the ground, Donghyuck landing first followed by Jeno on top of him  
\- Jeno then chased Renjun  
\- Renjun was saved from any ass whooping because he gave Jeno a big fat smooch and apologized profusely and Jeno got soft  
\- Jaemin had all of this filmed on his phone  
\- He also had to make sure Donghyuck was still alive  
\- No one was harmed, even Renjun’s selfie stick

They continued to hit the road after that. It was almost getting late in the evening so they decided to find a convenience store to get dinner and some snacks. Jeno went into the back seat to keep Jaemin company while his cousin and Renjun went into the store.

The younger boy had his legs on Jeno’s lap while playing with the latter’s fingers. Even in the dark, Jeno still thought he was beautiful. With only the streetlights shining from outside, Jaemin’s hair was illuminated with a white-gold hue. It looked like he had a halo of some sort atop his head. It suited him, Jeno thought.

Jaemin was going to hear his rapid heartbeat if he didn’t break the silence anytime soon and Jeno wasn’t going to expose himself. Here goes nothing.

“Nana,” he wanted to see how it felt on his tongue. He hadn’t used that nickname for a long time. This afternoon didn’t count because the younger boy was asleep.

Jaemin stopped playing with his fingers and looked up at him. “Wow, my heart just did something,” he let out a breathy laugh that did something to Jeno’s heart as well. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not? You loved it.”

“Yeah, but that was back in high school when I was still... I don’t know. It just brings back a lot of memories,” Jaemin shrugged and placed his head on Jeno’s shoulder.

“Why? Are they bad memories?”

“No, it just makes me feel all nostalgic and shit and I don’t like that feeling,” he said as he cupped Jeno’s warm hands with his cold ones.

“I miss high school,” Jeno mumbled and rested his head on Jaemin’s.

“I do, too.”

  
—

  
Renjun took four cups of ramen. He turned to Donghyuck. “What did they say they wanted again?”

“Milk for Jeno, coke for Jaemin, right? I want this can of coffee. What do you want?” the younger boy asked, head buried in the fridge.

“Just a bottle of mineral water, thanks. Oh, chips! What flavor should we get?”

Donghyuck went to Renjun’s side with arms full of drinks. “BBQ.”

“Are you kidding me? Hot & spicy is the shit.”

“Huang Renjun, you have shit taste. We’re taking BBQ.”

Renjun couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “No, Mr Lee. We’re taking hot & spicy.”

“Fine. Rock-paper-scissors,” Donghyuck suggested, hand already above his head.

Renjun gulped but kept a straight face nonetheless.

“ _Men always throw rock, Injun,_ ” he remembered Jeno’s words when they were back in high school. For the sake of the hot & spicy chips, Renjun will throw rock, alright.

“Rock-paper-scissors!” they said in unison, catching the attention of the cashier.

Renjun shouted in glee, fist pumped in the air because Donghyuck threw scissors. He quickly took three bags of chips and skipped to the cashier. “Come on, Hyuck! Jeno and Jaemin must be starving.”

The younger boy only groaned as he dragged his feet to the cashier and took out his wallet to pay.

  
—

  
They didn’t plan on checking into any hotels to sleep for the night because they were young, dumb and broke college kids. So, they settled for sleeping at a wide field they found along the way. It was a clearing beside the road where they parked the MPV and it was better than nothing. This part of the place wasn’t busy, away from shops, vehicles and people. Just peaceful.

Jaemin spread the mat from just now on the grass while Renjun placed the food they bought. Jeno took out his mother’s thermos from his bag for their ramen while Donghyuck tidied up the car for a bit.

Once everyone was done, they all sat down on the mat, ramen in hand accompanied by the sounds of cicadas from the surroundings. Above them hung the moon, the only source of light being the nearest streetlights were at least 500m away, and a cluster of stars.

They rarely got to see this. The stars were never really visible back in the city. Jeno smiled to himself, hiding his face in his cup of ramen.

Jaemin would love this. Back when they were kids, he would always come over with a telescope to gaze at the stars. Donghyuck was too young to appreciate the beauty of it so he never tagged along, uninterested. It was only Jeno and Jaemin. The latter would hog the device and shout out the names of the constellations excitedly before letting Jeno have his turn.

“Jaemin sweetie, your ramen is gonna get soggy if you keep staring at the sky. Also, your neck is gonna break,” Renjun said, effectively snapping Jaemin (and Jeno) back into reality.

“But the stars are beautiful. You know who else is beautiful?” Jaemin teasingly asked.

“Who?” Jeno was curious.

Suddenly, everyone answered simultaneously as if Jeno really needed to know.

“Mark hyung,” came Donghyuck’s voice.

“Moomi– me,” Renjun said.

“Jeno,” Jaemin said confidently.

“I’m sorry, what? I didn’t catch any of that but did you just say my name?” he pointed at the younger boy.

Jaemin feigned ignorance and whistled, looking everywhere but him.

“Stop liking me,” Jeno jokingly said and crossed his arms.

“You liked me first!” Jaemin retorted.

Jeno put his cup down. “Wait a minute,” he told Renjun and Donghyuck. “Let me sew his mouth.” He crawled over to the younger boy who already had his lips puckered up and his eyes closed.

No way was Jeno going to kiss his lips. But Jaemin only stayed still. Did he really want Jeno to kiss him? Behind him, Renjun and Donghyuck were hugging each other, watching closely with bated breath (of course going unnoticed by the other two). Jeno hesitated before opting to kiss Jaemin on the cheek.

Jaemin opened his eyes slowly. “Thought you were gonna sew my mouth?” he smiled cheekily.

“Not like that, stupid,” Jeno grumbled and wanted to hit him on the head but stopped and ruffled Jaemin’s hair instead before going back to his place and finishing his ramen.

Na Jaemin was taking at least 10 years off of his lifespan.

  
—

  
After finishing dinner, they cleaned up and placed all the rubbish in a plastic bag to throw away the next day. They laid down on the mat with a packet of chips.

“I thought we already finished one packet of hot & spicy chips in the car just now?” Jeno asked Renjun on his right.

“I got three packets of it.”

“Of the same flavor?!” Jeno didn’t mind, but he knew someone who would. He turned to his left to look at his cousin who was beside Jaemin.

Donghyuck rolled his eyes.

“Cheer up, Hyuck. Look at that!” Jaemin pointed to the sky in an attempt to lighten up the older boy’s mood. “That’s the Ursa Minor.”

He didn’t really know what to look at because there were stars everywhere so he only grunted in response.

“Don’t you guys feel weird about it?” Jeno suddenly spoke up after minutes of silence.

“About what?” Renjun asked while munching on the chips.

“That we’ve been together since forever. Except you, Injun. But still, we’ve all been together since high school and now we’re gonna part ways. _Forever_.”

“Don’t say that. We could still meet up,” Jaemin interjected.

“Yeah, but it can’t be everyday. We won’t be neighbors anymore. We’re gonna move away and move on with our lives and have our own families... it’s just... I can’t believe it.”

“Yeah, we’ve been inseparable,” Renjun agreed.

Donghyuck cleared his throat. “Uh, I’m... gonna move in with Mark hyung once I graduate.”

Jeno sat up abruptly that he felt dizzy and looked at his cousin with wide eyes. “YOU WHAT?!”

“Is that a good reaction or a bad reaction?” Donghyuck asked nervously.

Jaemin gently tugged on Jeno’s arm, motioning him to lay down again. He only removed Jaemin’s hand away and held it in his.

“I mean. That’s great, Hyuck. As your cousin – or _brother_ , should I say – I just have that wary feeling, you know? I’m glad you feel happy with Mark hyung but have you thought this through? Is he really the one for you?”

“Calm down, Jeno,” Renjun said softly and passed him the bag of chips.

Donghyuck bit his lower lip. “I think I am. I’m sure. I love him, Jeno.”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt. You’re like a brother to me,” he finally laid down again and put a chip in his mouth.

“Thanks for worrying but you know what kind of person Mark hyung is.”

“He’s a great person if he makes Hyuck happy,” Renjun chimed in.

“Yeah, we’re happy for you, Hyuck,” Jaemin said with a smile.

“Thanks, guys,” Donghyuck tried to hug them but only managed to hug Jaemin as he was the closest.

“Moving on! Does anyone remember the day Injun moved to our school?” Jaemin changed the subject and took the bag from Jeno.

“Definitely. We were surprised as heck when he spoke Korean fluently. He was that cute, soft and shy Chinese boy that girls and boys were after,” Jeno laughed.

“Turns out he’s satan himself when you piss him off,” Donghyuck said.

Renjun sat up and glared at him. Lucky for Donghyuck they were far from each other or else he would’ve been held in a chokehold. The older boy laid down again.

“And then, we took him into our group because he was fun to be with! You love us, right, Injun?” Jaemin asked and munched on some chips.

“Couldn’t have asked for better friends. You guys never made me feel left out despite being together since you were kids and me being the new addition so, yeah I love you guys.”

Jeno ruffled his hair.

“Then we graduated high school and ended up in the same college again,” Donghyuck added, accepting the bag Jaemin passed to him. “Perhaps we were all soulmates in our past lives?”

Jaemin laughed. “Sure thing.”

“And we’re still together even in different courses. That’s just amazing. That’s why I can’t believe we’re really gonna part ways when we graduate later...” There was a hint of sadness in Jeno’s voice. It seemed like Jaemin noticed it because the younger boy was hugging him tightly, as if to hug the sadness away.

“Yeah, Jeno’s right,” Renjun sighed. “So, Hyuck. Are you still gonna pursue your high school dream of becoming a singer? You _are_ in performing arts.”

“Probably. I mean, yeah. It’s kind of scary but I’m willing to risk it. As long as I’ve got you guys and Mark hyung and Chenle and Jisung by my side to support me, I’d be glad.”

“Of course, we’d support you! So, do you have like, a stage name?” Jaemin asked.

“I was thinking of ‘Haechan’. How does ‘Lee Haechan’ sound?”

“It’s great! It suits you because you’re our sun,” Jeno said.

“Stop it, I’m getting embarrassed.”

They laid in silence again as they gazed at the sky for awhile, starting to feel sleepy. The chips were long finished.

“What is happiness?” Renjun broke the silence.

“For me, singing, Mark hyung and you guys,” Donghyuck answered without missing a beat.

“I’m not quite sure myself. Of course, you guys are my happiness but I think happiness might be closer to you than you think,” Jaemin said vaguely. It was as if he was hinting at something.

Jeno wondered what he meant by that.

“What about you, Jeno?”

“I’m not sure, Injun. But maybe happiness really is closer to you than you think.”

Renjun hummed. “I’m just gonna YOLO my way through life, you get me?”

“Renjun, what the fuck,” said Donghyuck.

“Whatever happens, happens. I’ll accept everything.”

That night, they fell asleep on the mat outside under the night sky. They’d have to thank Renjun the next morning for his insect repellent spray.

  
—

  
Jeno was rudely awakened by the bright sunlight shining on his face. He checked his phone. It was 8AM and he still felt sleepy. It took him a few minutes to realize that he was cuddling Jaemin who also had his arms wrapped around him. Donghyuck was still asleep. On Jeno’s right, Renjun seemed to be awake already.

“I’m still sleepy,” he told the older boy. “I’m gonna sleep in the car.”

“Me, too.”

Jeno didn’t want to stop cuddling Jaemin but it was really starting to get hot. Oh, well. It wasn’t like this was the first time they cuddled. They had their fair share of cuddles throughout their childhood and even in high school. But it still felt special to him.

He gently removed Jaemin’s arms from his body before getting up gingerly to not awaken the younger boy and his cousin and headed back to the MPV with Renjun. The latter slept in the seat behind the driver and passenger seat while Jeno slept in the row behind him.

  
—

  
The second time Jeno woke up, it was almost 1. Outside, Donghyuck and Jaemin were tidying up and in front of him, Renjun was on his phone. It looked like the other two have freshened up. Jeno climbed to the front row and went to get his bag.

He sat beside Renjun in the car, took out a bottle of water and splashed his face before brushing his teeth.

“Good morning, Jeno!” Jaemin half-shouted from across him enthusiastically, still holding up a big plastic bag.

Jeno almost choked on his toothpaste. Na Jaemin caught him off guard so often that it wasn’t fair. How does he always manage to do that? Or was Jeno just weak for him?

He merely nodded at the younger boy, tootbrush still in his mouth, letting the fact that he said ‘morning’ when it was noon slide.

Donghyuck approached the car while Jaemin was busy putting away their things in the boot. “Freshen up a bit, Injun. Jeno, I’m thinking of going back to the beach we visited yesterday. You know, so we could take a bath. There’s that shower place there, right?”

“Sure. Then, where will we go next?”

“I did some researching or whatever. Town’s not very far from here. Maybe we could go find a mall and eat.”

  
—

  
“Hello, everyone!” Jaemin said, holding up Renjun’s camera in his face.

“For fuck’s sake, Jaemin,” Donghyuck cursed, covering his torso. His hair was damp from the shower that was still turned on. “Are you vlogging? Right now? Seriously? We’re showering!”

“Jaemin, please don’t get my camera wet,” came Renjun’s voice from outside.

The door to the showers opened and in came Jeno, mostly naked with only a short towel covering his lower half. Jaemin gulped and tried to not ogle too much. He didn’t feel this way whenever he saw Renjun or Donghyuck (before he dated Mark) almost naked.

He cleared his throat and looked back at the camera. “What are we doing right now, Hyuck?”

“Are you seriously– go bother someone else! Please let me shower in peace.”

Jaemin filmed Renjun who was just entering the showers. “Hello, Renjun. How are you today?”

The older boy flashed a smile to the camera and waved. “I’m fine, thanks. We’re showering!” he said happily.

“We’re showering!” Jaemin went to Jeno next. “Hello, Jeno.”

Jeno was shampooing his hair. “Hello.”

“Don’t worry,” Jaemin said to the camera. “This is completely PG,” he held up an ‘okay’ sign. “We’re not naked, we have a towel here. Oh wait, you can’t really see.”

“Jaemin, are you ever gonna shower?” Donghyuck asked from the other end of the room, already putting on his clothes.

He was about to make a snarky comeback when Jeno suddenly wet his hair and lathered some shampoo on it. He then started to massage Jaemin’s scalp.

The younger boy tried to maintain a straight face for the camera. It was hard to do so when you weren’t really straight. Was Lee Jeno really washing him right now? Like, the Lee Jeno? Jaemin looked at his face in the screen and he looked as red as a tomato. And that wasn’t good.

He tried to act like everything was fine. “Jeno is washing me right now,” he moved the camera upwards a bit to film the older boy, “He’s such a great friend.” He threw a peace sign and made several happy faces which he learnt from Renjun.

Jaemin didn’t like the sound of ‘great friend’. He just didn’t.

“Are you sure friends wash each other...” Renjun said. He was already fully clothed.

“Uh...” Jaemin didn’t know what to say.

“There! Do you need me to put soap on your body, too?” Jeno asked as if that really was a normal thing to do between friends.

“N-no! That’s good enough. Th-thanks, Jeno.” He cursed himself. He never was one to be flustered. He proudly deemed himself as a ‘confident gay’ who kissed everyone and now he was crumbling just because of one Lee Jeno.

Renjun took the camera from his hand. “I’ll take over the vlog, alright. You and Jeno finish showering. No one can take you seriously with foam in your hair, Jaemin.” Renjun then tiptoed to whisper in his ear and Jaemin leaned down a little. “Also, you’re blushing so fucking hard. Just thought you’d like to know,” he winked and went away.

Jaemin blushed harder, if possible. The fact that he was alone with Jeno now didn’t help either.

‘ _Everything will be fine if you just act like nothing happened. Act like you always do_ ,’ he kept repeating to himself while the cold water ran down his body.

A few minutes later, Jeno got dressed and was about to leave the showers when Jaemin tugged his arm. As the other boy swiveled around, he was greeted by Jeno's face millimetres from his own. The latter’s eyes flickered to his lips and suddenly it felt like the temperature in the room increased by 100. The long, heavy silence seemed to have lasted for at least half an hour before Jaemin realised he was damp, shirtless, and pressed up against Jeno’s clothed chest, soaking his shirt.

“Yes?” Jeno broke the silence, looking into his eyes now.

“I just wanted to say thanks for washing my hair,” Jaemin went in for a kiss before realizing what he was doing. He swerved his head last minute to kiss Jeno’s cheek instead.

When he pulled away, there was an unreadable expression on Jeno’s face. He looked... pissed? But why? Jeno usually didn’t mind it when he kissed his cheek. He had done it a lot of times to Jeno, in fact.

However, Jaemin’s train of thought was cut off when Jeno forced a smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes and turn them into crescents. This wasn’t his usual smile.

“No problem, _Nana_ ,” he said and left, causing Jaemin’s hand to fall back to his side.

  
—

  
Na Jaemin was going to be the death of him, Jeno was convinced. There was only so much Jeno’s weak, little heart could take before he had a heart attack. He was sure that he was also losing brain cells because of Jaemin. The mixed signals he sent? Jeno would have to give him an 11/10 because that was top notch! Jeno was really confused that he had forgotten how it felt like to be clever.

Take what happened in the showers just now; Jeno really thought that Jaemin was going to kiss him on the lips. Maybe he needed to get his eyes checked. But he could’ve sworn Jaemin had his lips parted as well and was looking at his lips.

Jeno furrowed his brows and scratched his nape. That wasn’t all. Sometimes, he thought that Jaemin could possibly also have feelings for him that weren’t platonic. But then, he flirted with everyone. Just when Jeno was about to feel like someone special to Jaemin whenever the latter kissed his cheek, hugged him, cuddled him or held his hand, Jaemin did that with other people as well.

Maybe he was just flirty by nature? Jeno didn’t know. Jaemin was just overly friendly is all. And that wasn’t helping at all. Now that Donghyuck and Jisung were already in relationships, Jeno didn’t feel jealous whenever Jaemin was being touchy with them. Surely he knew how to respect people’s relationships, right? The only problem was with Renjun.

Jeno always wondered if they were a thing. He wanted to ask Renjun but he was afraid the older boy would take it the wrong way. He didn’t have the balls to confess to Jaemin either. Never in his life would Jeno risk a friendship of over 20 years. Na Jaemin was someone dear to him and he would never want to lose him.

Jeno sighed. Will this pining ever end?

  
—

  
Jeno parked the MPV across the mall they decided to get brunch at. It was small but it was still better than nothing. They didn’t plan to do much anyway. Just to get brunch and probably see if there were anything interesting they could get.

Jaemin was acting all weird and awkward around him. He wouldn’t even meet Jeno’s eyes and it irked him. Did he do something wrong? Was it because of what happened in the showers just now? That wasn’t even anything new, so _why_?

Renjun was busy talking to the camera with Jaemin beside him until something caught his attention. “Oh, cotton candy!” he pointed to a stall not too far away from them.

“We can get cotton candy after our meal, Injun,” Jeno told him. He was one healthy man.

“Hmm okay, then.”

Jaemin took the camera from Renjun and linked arms with Donghyuck. They started walking ahead, leaving Jeno with Renjun. Jeno slung his arm over the latter’s shoulder and started walking together with him, making sure to look left and right before crossing the road.

“Say, Injun. Uh, I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you have... anyone in mind?” Jeno asked.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Do you like anyone at the moment?” Jeno rephrased his question.

“Oh. Nope, why?”

Jeno almost let out a sigh of relief. “Just wondering since, you know, our closest friends are already dating. Donghyuck is starting to get serious with Mark hyung and Chenle is with Jisung. Also, your brother is with Jungwoo hyung, so...” he trailed off.

“Hmm...” Renjun nodded in understanding. “What about you, Jeno?” he asked, looking up at him.

Jeno’s heart skipped a beat and he could feel his face heating up despite already entering the mall which had air conditioning. He looked at Jaemin in front of them who was making frantic gestures towards the camera along with his cousin.

“I-I actually do,” he admitted.

“Good for you, then. Are you dating them?” Renjun asked as he held Jeno’s hand that was on his shoulder.

“No. I haven’t even told them.”

“Then tell them quick before it’s too late. You don’t want to lose them, do you? Even if they reject you, at least you’ve told them and you can stop pining and start moving on. It’s better than to regret because you didn’t confess and see them love someone else.”

Jeno let the older boy’s words sink in. “You’re right, Injun. Thanks so much.” Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and pecked Renjun’s cheek. “Oh, oops. Sorry,” he said sheepishly.

Renjun laughed. “I don’t mind.”

“Must be the Jaemin effect,” Jeno joked.

“Definitely.”

  
—

  
After having brunch, they walked around for a bit and found a bingsu cafe. Donghyuck suggested that they go in as if Jeno didn’t just have to beg him to split the bill back at the restaurant because Donghyuck didn’t want to go broke.

They settled at a booth at the back of the cafe which was quite secluded. Jeno went in first, followed by Donghyuck. Across them, what didn’t go unnoticed by Jeno (unfortunately) was when Jaemin was about to get into the booth first but saw Jeno do so, he backed out and told Renjun to go in first so he didn’t have to sit across Jeno.

Jeno pretended he saw nothing.

He really didn’t know what went wrong. It wasn’t like Na Jaemin at all to pull something like he did in the showers then get all awkward. Jeno wanted to say something but he was scared that it would push the younger boy away instead.

Jeno shrugged off all of his thoughts when their bingsu arrived (he didn’t realized someone had ordered already), preferring to enjoy food and not lose strands of hair due to stress just because of one certain boy.

  
—

  
“This was my student ID card back in high school,” Jaemin said and showed the card to the camera. “Name: Jaemin, last name: Na.”

“You look the same,” Donghyuck remarked. He showed the camera his card when Jaemin filmed him. “I’m still the cute Hyuck that I was, right?”

“Wow~ yep, but you got a lot more tanner now. Get that melanin, king,” Jaemin said before passing the camera to Renjun.

“I don’t have my student ID card from high school right now. I don’t know where I kept it,” Renjun shrugged at the camera. “Let’s see Jeno’s.”

Jeno showed his card.

“The face sculpted by God,” Renjun commented.

“It runs in the genes,” Donghyuck said proudly, not missing the chance to compliment himself as well.

“Handsome as always,” Jaemin mumbled, mouth around his spoon.

Did Jeno hear that right? Did Jaemin just say that? It wasn’t like it was the first time Jaemin complimented him, he really was just _dying_ for the boy to talk to him right now.

Jeno only winked at the camera (he learnt that from Renjun).

“I’m sitting across Jeno right now,” Renjun said, still filming Jeno. “This is what a date with Lee Jeno would look like.”

Jeno started to act all boyfriend-like for the camera. He pretended to smile shyly, showing off his crescent eyes. He then took Renjun’s hand and kissed it, eyes on the camera.

“You look great today, babe.”

Renjun covered his face. He couldn’t look anymore. This was starting to get out of hand. Perhaps he shouldn’t have suggested the ‘a date with Lee Jeno’ concept. He deeply regretted it.

Then, Jeno took a spoonful of whatever was left of their bingsu and pretended to feed the camera. “Open wide~”

Renjun tried hard to contain his laughter as he said, “Ah...”

Jeno retracted the spoon, ate the food and said, “Good job, babe,” through a mouthful of bingsu and patted the camera.

“Okay, cut! I don’t wanna do this anymore,” Renjun said and passed his camera to Jaemin.

“Oh great, that was such a pain to watch,” Donghyuck said.

“It sure is,” Jaemin said quickly so that no one would catch it, and turned off the camera.

No one but Jeno did.

  
—

  
They crossed the road again to get back to the MPV. Donghyuck lead the way while Jeno walked with Renjun and Jaemin was trailing behind them with the camera.

“Can we get the cotton candy now?” Renjun asked no one in particular.

“Sure,” Jeno replied.

Donghyuck closed the car door and once again lead the way to the stall. Everyone almost forgot about the cotton candy except for Renjun it seemed.

“We had brunch, then bingsu for desert. Now you want cotton candy, Injun? You sure have a–” Jeno was cut off when someone pulled his arm and he staggered backwards. It was Jaemin.

Jeno was taken aback. Jaemin kept talking to the camera and acted like nothing happened. Like he didn’t just ignore Jeno for three whole hours. A part of him was happy because it looked like their relationship was back to normal but he was also confused. Na Jaemin and his mood swings (Jeno didn’t know what to dub it), really.

“I’m with Jeno now. We’re getting cotton candy!” Jaemin told the camera.

“We’re getting cotton candy,” Jeno repeated and took the camera. “Injun is in front of us,” he said and shoved the camera in the older boy’s face for emphasis.

“Whoa,” Renjun moved out of the frame because it was an unflattering angle and walked next to Donghyuck.

Jaemin grabbed Jeno’s arm again so that they were walking side by side and placed his hand on the older boy’s nape. Was it just Jeno or was Jaemin exhibiting possessive behavior? Maybe he was just overthinking.

Donghyuck paid for four cotton candies and they walked around aimlessly again.

Jeno filmed Jaemin who was walking beside him. “Where should we go next?”

The younger boy was too preoccupied with his cotton candy that he didn’t realize he was being asked a question.

“Nana.”

“W-what?” he blurted out in Mandarin, looking at the camera.

Jeno understood the basics of the language, thanks to Renjun. He repeated his question. “I said, where should we go next?”

“Where should we go next? Hm, you tell me where you want to go.”

“What?”

“You tell me where you want to go and I’ll take you,” Jaemin said.

“You’re acting weird.”

Jaemin shrugged. They were about to cross the road now.

“Are we going back to the mall again?” Donghyuck half-shouted. He and Renjun were quite far behind them.

“I wouldn’t mind some air conditioning,” Renjun stated.

“Then we are!” Jaemin said happily.

  
—

  
Jeno had stopped vlogging by then, tired of holding the camera. He returned the camera to Renjun to be kept. They only checked out stores on the ground floor this afternoon, so they went up to the first floor this time. They walked around for a bit, Jaemin never letting go of Jeno the whole time.

While they _have_ held hands so many times, it was never for this long. Jaemin would move to hold hands with other people as well when they went out. And he also certainly wouldn’t pull Jeno back to his side and grab his hand tightly whenever the older boy would go to another person or started walking too fast.

Something was just _off_.

Not that Jeno didn’t like holding hands with Jaemin anyway so he wasn’t complaining.

Suddenly, Jaemin gasped and pointed to a store. “Kakao Friends! Please, let’s go in!”

Now Jeno wouldn’t mind where Jaemin wanted to go, alright. The problem was that Jaemin dashed into the store excitedly and he never let go of Jeno’s hand, dragging him along. He almost tripped because he wasn’t prepared for that. Curse Na Jaemin and his fast legs. And maybe curse him for being stupidly cute whenever he got excited, too. Jeno’s heart couldn’t take it.

They got separated from Renjun and Donghyuck who were probably somewhere in the store.

“I like that one!” he said and pointed to a stuffed toy on the top rack. Finally, he let go of Jeno’s hand to take it.

“Ryan?”

“Yep.”

Jaemin was struggling a bit. The rack was too tall for him. Jeno would’ve went to help him but they were about the same height so he just watched as the younger boy jumped several times before he succeeded in grabbing the stuffed toy.

“Yay!!”

‘ _Cute_ ,’ Jeno thought to himself.

Renjun and Donghyuck came from behind him. They didn’t have anything they wanted to buy.

“Oh, let’s take a picture there!”

They looked to where Renjun was pointing; it was a bench decorated with Kakao Friends around it. A big Ryan statue was glued to the bench as well. Jaemin quickly ran to sit on the bench, Ryan plushie in hand.

“No one come yet! I want to take a picture with Ryan oppa,” he said as he took out his phone and took several selfies.

“Please never say that ever again,” Renjun facepalmed.

When the younger boy was done, he called everyone in. Renjun crouched next to Jaemin, Jeno stood behind the big Ryan statue and Donghyuck stood near his cousin, resting his elbow on Ryan.

Jaemin strained his hand a bit to fit all four of them in the frame. “Everyone say ‘let’s get it’!”

“Jaemin, no,” Renjun said.

“Mark hyung!” said Donghyuck enthusiastically.

“Let’s get it!” Jeno was the only one who followed.

Right after Jaemin took the picture, Huang Renjun, in his 173cm glory, held Jaemin in a chokehold. He forced the latter to take the picture again because everyone wasn’t ready (actually, only he wasn’t ready).

And so, they took another picture. This time, everyone smiled brightly.

  
—

  
They didn’t realize they’d been in the mall for the whole day. The sun was already starting to set outside. Renjun suggested that they have dinner at a Chinese restaurant because he missed eating it.

After dinner, everyone was extremely exhausted so Jeno decided to go back to the field from last night to sleep for the night. Before going back, they passed by a music store on the second floor.

“Can we go in for a while?” Donghyuck asked.

There were lots of musical instruments in the store and he went straight to the piano. He pressed a key to test it out. When the C note played, Donghyuck sat on the seat. He started playing the introduction of ‘A Thousand Miles’.

“This song slaps,” Renjun said before he did the whip.

Donghyuck played on the keys more aggressively and Renjun’s dance moves got more intense. He really was doing the whip passionately.

Jaemin had all of this filmed on his phone while Jeno covered his face, embarrassed.

Why are his friends like this.

  
—

  
By the time they were back at the field, it was almost 10PM. Renjun and Donghyuck stayed in the car to study for a bit. Jeno decided to get some fresh air so he went out, Jaemin following suit.

“You’ve always been interested in astronomy, haven’t you?” Jeno asked, breaking the silence of the night that was filled with only the sounds of cicadas and the slow music from Donghyuck’s speaker from inside the car. He and Jaemin were sitting on the grass, admiring the stars in the night sky. Jaemin leaned his head on Jeno’s shoulder and the latter let his head rest on the younger boy’s.

“Yeah. It’s just amazing, you know? Knowing there’s still a lot more stuff we haven’t discovered out there alongside learning about planets and their moons and–”

“I know, I know,” Jeno cut him off before he could start rambling on about outer space and laughed. “I still remember the times when we were kids and you would come over to my place just to show an interesting fact you found on one of those astronomy books for kids. Not to forget that one time when you barged into the room when Hyuck and I were building blocks and he got shocked and ended up knocking over our house.”

Jaemin grimaced. “He cried afterwards and refused to talk to me for two days. How old were we again? Five?”

“Yeah,” Jeno sighed, feeling nostalgic reminiscing those days.

They were silent again, Jaemin pointing out constellations every now and then that Jeno couldn’t quite see or understand or remember but that was fine. Jaemin was happy and that made him happy as well.

Until one particular song played from the distance and he immediately recognized it. He gently removed Jaemin’s head from his shoulder and stood up.

The younger boy looked at him expectantly and he held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

When Jaemin finally registered the song, a smile made its way onto his pretty face and he took Jeno’s hand. “Gladly.”

With only the light of the stars twinkling above them, Jeno gently placed his hand on Jaemin’s waist. The familiar love song was flowing from Donghyuck’s speaker and filled the open air beneath an endless midnight sky, and the atmosphere took on a surreal, almost otherworldly quality.

Jaemin’s arm rested on Jeno’s shoulder as their hands locked.  
They started to move in sync with one another, cautiously and steadily, to the rhythm of the music.

“ _You only know what I want you to,_  
_I know everything you don’t want me to_ ”

The song wasn’t something foreign to them. ‘Poison & Wine’ as Jeno recalled, a slow and sweet song that Donghyuck always played back at home, in the dorms, in car rides, _anywhere_ – everyone had become accustomed to it. He had always thought that it was the perfect song to have a slow dance to, but never imagined that it would come true.

“ _Your mouth is poison, your mouth is wine_ ”

With every sway and step, Jeno felt the warmth between them grow. Their bodies almost touching, he could feel Jaemin’s pulse and the heat radiating from his body. He wondered briefly if the younger boy could hear his wild heartbeat. Jaemin moved quietly in Jeno’s arms, resting his head against the crook of his neck and Jeno could feel him taking in his scent.

“ _You think your dreams are the same as mine_ ”

“You smell like lavender,” Jaemin mumbled, lips brushing against sensitive skin as he spoke. It felt somewhat ticklish and Jeno could feel shivers run down his spine.

“Yeah?” his grip on the younger boy’s waist tightened a bit and he brushed the curve gently with his thumb.

“You always do,” Jaemin looked up, their faces centimetres (or millimetres?) away, and their eyes locked, gazing at each other with an unspoken pining for what felt like an eternity.

“ _I don’t love you, but I always will_  
_I don’t love you, but I always will_  
_I don’t love you, but I always will_ ”

Jeno searched Jaemin’s eyes in the darkness, trying to decipher what the look the latter was giving him meant as they continued to move together almost as one, fitting together like puzzle pieces. He wouldn’t mind living the rest of his life like this, having Jaemin in his arms, close to him, probably whispering sweet nothings and telling him over and over again how much he loved and adored Jaemin. Oh, how he wished–

“ _I wish you'd hold me when I turn my back,_  
_the less I give the more I get back_ ”

And all at once their movements didn’t feel like movements, but it felt as if they were both floating, surrounded by a velvet starry sky, bathed in the light of the moon.

Jeno could feel his heart sink as he noticed that the song was reaching its climax. He didn’t want this to end; he wanted to do it forever with Jaemin. He pulled the younger boy closer.

“ _I don't love you, but I always will_  
_I don't love you, but I always will_  
_I don't love you, but I always will_ ”

“Jeno?”

He hushed, telling Jaemin to keep quiet. Jeno wanted to savor every moment he had with Jaemin, the rare times that they were alone. He was aware they were no longer slow dancing, Jeno holding the cause of his heartache close to him, scared to let go. Jaemin hugged him back.

He looked over to the MPV, where Renjun was still probably talking to his brother or doing yet another livestream but mostly focused on Donghyuck scribbling away in his journal. It was as if Jeno was sending a telepathic message to his cousin to restart the whole song again.

But of course, Donghyuck didn’t notice this.

“ _I always will,_  
_I always will,_  
_I always will_ ”

The song drew to a close and the two were left in silence, wrapped up in each other’s embrace, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by faint pops and crackles. Jaemin was the first to pull away from the hug and turned to look into the distance just in time to see fiery sparks burst through the sky, like inks of light on a starry canvas. Jeno followed his gaze.

“Wow, look at that!” Renjun exclaimed, already by Jeno’s side, Donghyuck following suit, standing next to Jaemin.

Jeno intertwined his fingers with Jaemin on his left and doing the same with Renjun on his right.

“It’s beautiful,” Donghyuck said breathlessly, barely registering Jaemin’s fingers lacing with his.

Instead of looking at the fireworks, Jeno admired Jaemin. Admired how his eyes were sparkling, admired how wide his smile was, admired how his pretty face lit up with different colours from the fireworks in the sky.

Na Jaemin was ethereal.

The four stood in comfortable silence, never letting go of their hold on each other’s hands.

Jaemin turned to look at Jeno when he felt like he was being watched. He frowned. “Stop staring at me,” he whispered, not wanting Renjun and Donghyuck to hear and unintentionally ruin the moment that the four were having.

“In a room full of art, I’d still stare at you,” Jeno simply whispered back.

  
—

  
Jaemin couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe he fell in love miles away from home. He couldn’t believe out of all people, he had to fall in love with his _childhood friend_. His childhood friend Lee Jeno.

When he was 16, something felt different with Jeno but he didn’t know what. Whenever he was with Jeno, he felt _something_. Jaemin didn’t know what the feeling was. It was unfamiliar. He didn’t feel that way whenever it was someone else.

All the kisses, hugs, hand holdings and touches with other people meant nothing to Jaemin. But with Jeno, it was something else. Jaemin loved it with Jeno. It took him about _two years_ to figure out that he _liked_ his childhood friend.

And now, he thought he _loved_ Jeno. ‘Love’ was such a strong word.

Jaemin felt jealous when Jeno acted boyfriend-like with Renjun back at the cafe. Maybe not jealous. Jaemin was _furious_. He did a great job at masking his emotions. Or so he’d like to believe.

Without realizing it, he got possessive over Jeno the whole day and didn’t even kiss anyone else on the cheek. That was something new. Jaemin couldn’t go a day without physical contact. Perhaps Jeno was all he needed? Was he really in love with Jeno?

Jaemin sighed. He turned over to look at Jeno who was fast asleep beside him and had his arms wrapped around Jaemin. They were still outside. Renjun and Donghyuck became tired and went back to the car to sleep. Jeno fell asleep on his shoulder so he had asked Donghyuck to help spread a mat so they could sleep outside.

Feelings were confusing. He suddenly didn’t want to feel anymore. Jaemin gently traced his thumb over Jeno’s soft bottom lip. It was so soft that it reminded Jaemin about his own chapped lips. His lips were drier than the Sahara Desert, that was for sure.

He leaned down to peck Jeno’s lips but stopped inches away. No, he couldn’t do that to the older boy. Not without his consent. Jaemin opted to kiss his forehead instead before laying down again.

He nuzzled up against Jeno’s chest and tried to get some shut-eye before the next day.

  
—

  
The first thing Jeno saw when he woke up was Na Jaemin. He was greeted by Jaemin’s eyes piercing into his soul and that was never an ideal way of waking up. Jeno could’ve sworn his heart stopped beating for two whole minutes.

“Good morning to you, too, Mr Jaemin,” he said sarcastically.

“It’s like 1:27PM,” Jaemin simply replied, never breaking eye contact.

“How long have you been awake?”

“Quite some time.”

Jeno frowned. “Have you been staring at me the whole time?”

Jaemin didn’t answer him. Instead, he detached his body from Jeno (the latter almost whined at the loss of heat despite already having enough heat since it was summer), kissed him on the cheek and said, “Rise and shine, Mr Jeno. Your cousin and Renjun have freshened up.” Then, he went away.

Jeno wanted to pull his hair out. But instead, he got up, folded the mat and headed to the MPV as well to freshen up.

  
—

  
They went back to the beach to wash themselves before driving to town to get brunch. The day was pretty much uneventful with the exception of a few things;

\- Donghyuck singing in the showers and Renjun tripping on soap because it was heavenly  
\- “He is the son of Michael Jackson himself!” – Huang Renjun, 2k18  
\- Jaemin washing Jeno’s hair as an excuse to repay what he did yesterday  
\- Jeno running away from Jaemin because the latter was trying to lather soap on his body and Jeno was just simply a panicked gay  
\- Renjun saved him though, bless him  
\- Over brunch, Jeno kept choking on his drink because of the way Jaemin was eating his hotdog (the boy had to be doing this on purpose, no one eats a hotdog that suggestively)  
\- They found two trolleys outside of the building  
\- Renjun and Jaemin got into the trolleys, Donghyuck went with Renjun and Jeno went with Jaemin  
\- Jeno went full speed while pushing the trolley and almost hit someone’s car in the parking lot  
\- At one point, Donghyuck stopped the trolley abruptly and Renjun went flying towards Jaemin  
\- No one was harmed  
\- Jaemin hasn’t kissed anyone on the cheek except for Jeno today  
\- He also kept flirting with Jeno (Renjun and Donghyuck been knew but it got too much today)  
\- Jeno was Whipped™

It was about 5PM when they got back into the MPV and started to head back to Seoul.

“Are we really going home now?” Jaemin asked. He was sharing his jacket with Renjun again. He stuck out one arm to apply the chapstick he just bought from a convenience store that day. The Ryan plushie was on his lap but Jaemin was too busy snuggling up to Renjun. He had also placed the straw hat that Jeno bought for him on the stuffed toy.

“I don’t want to go home yet...” came Renjun’s muffled voice as he buried his head in the crook of Jaemin’s neck.

Jeno looked into the rear view mirror. That seemed like it felt nice. He wanted to do that.

“Then... shall we go to the Namsan Tower?” Donghyuck asked, putting down his phone.

“Let’s fucking go,” Jeno said determinedly, eyes on the road.

  
—

  
It felt great to be back in the city. The trip away from the city was a pleasant one because they got to experience tranquility but at the end of the day, the city was where home was. They were city boys after all.

Renjun and Jaemin were already fast asleep at the back. Donghyuck was awake to keep his cousin company. He absentmindedly stroked Jeno’s hand that was on the armrest to reassure him that he was still awake.

“Do you miss Mark hyung?” Jeno asked to break the silence.

“Of course I do.”

Jeno only hummed in response.

“Now that you have a potential cousin-in-law, when will I?” Donghyuck teased.

“What are you trying to say?”

“What I’m saying is, don’t throw away your shot, bro. You’re too obvious. It’s out in the open already anyway. He likes you, too.”

Jeno almost swerved the car out of shock. “Wh... what?” he pulled his hand away from Donghyuck’s touch.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“I certainly don’t.”

“Please. It’s your precious little _Nana_ ,” the younger boy whispered the last bit.

“Lee Donghyuck, I’m giving you one more chance to shut the fuck up or I’ll throw you out of this moving vehicle,” Jeno threatened his cousin.

“You can’t do that! This is my dad’s car!” he said and gripped the armrest instinctively. “Calm down, Jeno. You don’t have to get mad.”

“No–”

“No, _you_ shut the fuck up, Jeno. Listen to me; I know how you feel towards Jaemin and I know how Jaemin feels towards you. It’s mutual. Do you know I’ve been the thirdwheel all this while? It was always you and Jaemin. Fucking thank _God_ Renjun came around during high school so I didn’t feel uncomfortable or unneeded anymore,” Donghyuck was out of breath after his speech.

“Hyuck, I...” Jeno closed his mouth when he realized he didn’t know what to say. He really wanted to look at the younger boy but he mustn’t take his eyes off the road.

“There was even one point in high school where I developed a crush on Renjun,” Donghyuck continued. “When was that? I think... we were second years. But I never told him because I thought I didn’t have a chance with him. You know who he was; that cute Chinese guy who girls and boys liked. He dated anyone he liked and I’m just... another boy in the school.”

What? How was Jeno never aware of this?

“Hyuck–”

“But it’s fine. I moved on quick. Then I met Mark hyung in college and I finally understood what love is. You know what? Love is also what you and Jaemin feel for each other. Get your fucking head out of the gutter, Lee Jeno. Tell him.”

They were already parked at their destination. Jeno shifted the gear to P and forcefully leaned back on his seat. He let out a heavy sigh.

“I hate that you’re right.”

“I’m always right,” Donghyuck said proudly. “I hope you use your remaining brain cells wisely and grow some balls. It’s for your own sake, too. You know I don’t want you to get hurt.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Hyuck. I love you,” Jeno said and bumped Donghyuck’s fist with his.

  
—

  
Waking up Renjun and Jaemin was never an easy task. Jeno tried tugging Jaemin’s jacket off the two boys but neither woke up. He just left the task to Donghyuck.

The latter went out of the car, opened the door on Renjun’s side and shouted, “BEACH!!” at the top of his lungs. It turned out that this was the most effective way. 100/10 would recommend.

Jaemin knocked his knee on the front seat, the Ryan plushie flying out of his lap and onto Jeno’s and Renjun hit his head on Jaemin’s chin. Jeno winced, feeling secondhand pain but the two seemed to not give any shits at all as they said, “Beach?!” in unison and clambered out of the car, Jaemin’s jacket falling to the floor.

Fortunately, they went out from Jaemin’s side so Donghyuck didn’t get knocked over this time. Renjun and Jaemin ran quite far before they stopped and looked back.

Wait a second...

It was nighttime. There was no sound of waves hitting the shore. There were bright city lights from below. City lights? From below? Where were they?

Jeno got out of the car and locked it. “We’re back in Seoul. Look up.”

Renjun and Jaemin looked up. There, standing proudly was the landmark of Seoul, the Namsan Tower, reflecting off different colors of light.

“It’s the Namsan Tower!” Renjun gasped out as if it was his first time. Maybe he was just a bit disoriented. He fished for his phone from his pocket to snap pictures.

“It’s the Namsan Tower!” Jaemin echoed.

“Shall we get going?” Donghyuck asked.

Jeno expected Jaemin to just go with Renjun since the latter was the closest one to the younger boy. But, no. Jaemin turned around to look at Jeno and held out his hand to him. Jeno didn’t hesitate one bit. He pushed himself off of the car from where he was leaning against and quickly made his way to Jaemin. He grabbed the younger boy’s hand.

“Everything is better when it’s with you,” Jaemin whispered into his ear before he started to run, dragging Jeno along and leaving Renjun and Donghyuck behind.

  
—

  
When they finally reached the top, they realized they didn’t know what they wanted to do. They only decided to go here because no one wanted to end the trip just yet. But now that they were finally at the Namsan Tower, what were they supposed to do?

Jeno was panting heavily and it was the same for Jaemin. Renjun and Donghyuck still weren’t in sight. They were probably having a casual, relaxing walk.

“Shall we walk around for a bit while waiting for them?” Jaemin asked between pants, never letting go of Jeno’s hand.

“Sure.”

Jaemin grinned. He pulled Jeno to a place where they could get a clear view of the city. Jeno would give up his left leg if it meant seeing Jaemin’s eyes sparkle beautifully every second.

“Look at the Seoul city view!” Jaemin exclaimed.

Jeno wanted to drop everything and just say, “Fuck city view lives, you’re the view, Jaemin,” and kiss him so hard that the younger boy had no more oxygen left in his lungs.

Instead, he said, “Do you want a picture?”

Jaemin turned to look at him. Jeno thought his eyes were playing tricks on him because did Na Jaemin just look at his lips for a millisecond? Or was it the dim lighting that made him think so? Maybe Jeno really did need to go for an eye checkup.

“Only if you’re in it,” was Jaemin’s reply.

If he kept saying stuff like that, it would be really hard for Jeno to hold back from confessing his love to Jaemin right then and there to the whole of Seoul city and kissing him senseless for everyone in Korea to watch. As Hyuck once said, ‘right in front of my salad’.

Ever since Donghyuck’s ‘motivational speech’, he saw Jaemin in a different light. It was nothing new, Jeno has felt that way since high school but like, this was a _way different light_. He noticed that Jaemin was more touchy with him compared to everyone else and he also did things he didn’t usually do.

Jaemin kept taking in his scent whenever he had the chance, rested his hand on Jeno’s hips, always had his body attached to Jeno’s at all times and... glancing at his lips? Jaemin was also noticeably more touchy for some reason now and it was pushing all of Jeno’s buttons.

Jeno tried to act nonchalant and shrugged. “If you insist. You wanted a great picture so you’re asking me to bless it with my visuals, right?” it was only meant to be a joke.

But Jaemin seemed serious when he nodded like he wanted to dislocate his neck. “True. Very true. Please grace the picture with your top tier visuals.”

Jeno forced out a laugh so that Jaemin wouldn’t notice that he was sure as hell flustered and about to jump off the place. He took out his phone and opened the camera. Jaemin pulled him closer, which was impossible because they were already close as closest close could get, and slung his arm around the older boy’s shoulder.

Jeno flashed his eye smile as Jaemin placed their cheeks together, made sure they also had the view of the city in the frame and snapped a picture. Jeno wanted to go for a neutral look for the next one. He waited for Jaemin to change his facial expression before taking another one.

But right as his thumb almost pressed capture, Jaemin pecked his cheek and it caught him off guard. Jeno’s neutral look was replaced with that of a shocked one and it was caught on camera. He quickly tried to delete it but the younger boy snatched his phone away.

“No, don’t delete it! Let me see!” Jaemin hugged his phone close to his chest.

“Jaemin, no. Give that back,” he tried to sound intimidating but Na Jaemin was just too cute to be mad at.

Jaemin only ignored him. “Aw, this picture came out great! Let me AirDrop this to myself,” he said as he took out his own phone.

“Please, Jaemin. No...” Jeno was almost begging. He covered his face with both hands. “It’s embarrassing.”

“But you look cute!”

Jeno wanted to cry.

  
They’d been watching the two from afar for a long time.

“Should we, uh... go to them?”

“No, Injun. Let the two lovebirds be.”

“That’s very unlike you to say, Hyuck,” Renjun retorted. “Remember what we–”

Donghyuck hushed the older boy. “I just want what’s best for my baby cousin.”

“Jeno is two months older than you.”

“Shut up.”

“Donghyuck, I am older than you.”

“Shut up, _please_ ,” Donghyuck said in a mocking tone.

“Lee Donghyuck, I can literally beat the shit out of you and I won’t hesitate to do so.”

  
—

  
They didn’t actually go up the tower. They only walked around at the base to admire the city view (Jeno only admired Jaemin, his one and only view, but we been knew) and take pictures. Jaemin didn’t only hold his hand, they had their fingers _laced_ now and Jeno was starting to break into a sweat.

Sure, they have laced fingers before but not for this long. Never when they were walking. Was Na Jaemin planning to kill him? It was a great way to go but Jeno thought it was too soon. He had yet to confess his love to the boy.

Finally, they reached the area full of padlocks. Jeno noticed that beside him, Jaemin stared longingly at one of them.

“Should we get one?” he asked the three. He didn’t give them the chance to answer his question before saying, “I’m getting one.”

Several minutes later, he and Jaemin (who refused to let go of his hand so he ended up following Jeno) returned with a padlock of their own. Jeno flourished it happily to Renjun and Donghyuck. He took out the marker he got from the souvenir shop from his pocket.

“I’m writing first!”

This was what they wrote:

Jeno: Renjun ♡ Jeno ♡ Jaemin ♡ Donghyuck

Donghyuck: 00+00+00+00= LOVE

Jaemin:  ~~three~~   ~~ily j~~  norenminhyuck forever!!! (he was told to not write ‘three gays and a bi’ and also almost exposed himself)

Renjun: ily guys forever pls stay healthy ♡ (he also drew Moomin)

Jeno did the honour of securing their padlock to the fence. They took a picture of it before leaving, all four of them walking together in a line for once.

  
—

  
It was 10:30PM when they went back down to the MPV. All of them still didn’t want to end the trip just yet.

“So... we heading home?” Jeno asked as he fastened his seat belt. His voice sounded hopeful, hoping that his friends didn’t want to go home either.

“We haven’t visited one place yet,” Jaemin said.

Donghyuck turned around to look at him questioningly.

Renjun seemed to know what Jaemin meant. “Could it be...?”

  
—

  
The last time they were here was six years ago. The place held so many memories dear to them that it almost felt like a second home. The addition of one Huang Renjun made it better, too. As the saying goes, ‘the more, the merrier’.

Jeno stopped the car in front of the familiar building. It felt like only yesterday they were running around and causing trouble at this exact place.

“Welcome to high school,” Jeno said sarcastically.

“Can’t wait for History class!” Jaemin said.

“Has the time to skip classes and snack in the music room come yet?” Donghyuck asked.

“Let’s crash in the art room,” said Renjun.

The four of them fell silent for a minute before bursting into laughter. They used to hate high school back then. Who knew that now, it was all that they reminisce about?

“Are we really gonna do this?” Jeno asked finally after the laughter died down.

“We’re here, so might as well get on with it,” Jaemin said, smirking.

  
—

  
With a bit of difficulty, they climbed over the fence. The first place they visited in the school was the cafeteria.

“This place still looks the same as it did the last time we were still studying here,” Jaemin stated, shining the flashlight of his phone on every corner.

“Well, how else should it look like?”

“I don’t know, Hyuck,” he shrugged. “They could’ve renovated it or something, lmao.”

“Jaemin, for the love of Moomin, please stop saying that out loud,” Renjun said, exasperation very evident in his voice.

“Oh!” Jeno suddenly gasped, pointing somewhere.

“Oh my God, what?!” Donghyuck panicked and hugged his cousin tightly. “Did you see a gho–”

“That! There– uh...”

Renjun shined his flashlight to where Jeno was pointing. “Oh.”

“We always sat there during lunch, right?” Jaemin asked, a sad smile forming on his face.

Donghyuck opened his eyes. There was no ghost, Jeno was just being dramatic.

“Yeah,” Jeno ran towards that table and sat where he usually did.

Everyone else followed suit. Beside him sat Donghyuck, Jaemin was across him and beside the younger boy was Renjun. They stared at each other in the dark, feeling nostalgic as they thought back to lunchtimes in high school.

Renjun would always hold Donghyuck in a chokehold because the latter stole his food. Jaemin would always make kissy faces at Jeno whenever he caught the older boy staring at him. And Jeno always choked on his food. When the ball rang, signaling that break was over, they would hang at the restroom first before actually going back to class. They were healthy teenagers, alright. They didn’t smoke. They spent the time in the restroom splashing water at each other and of course one of them would end up in a chokehold by none other than the almighty Huang Renjun.

Then the four of them would end up in detention but no one minded. They had each other and that was all that mattered.

The silence was broken by sipping noises. Jaemin was pretending to sip tea.

“Does anyone want cookies?” he asked for dramatic effect.

“I do!” Renjun had his arm raised.

Jaemin held an imaginary plate to the older boy. “Here you go, Injunnie.”

Renjun took one piece of invisible cookie and started munching on it.

“Would you like some more tea, Jeno?” Donghyuck suddenly asked, holding an imaginary teapot.

“Sure,” Jeno said and held out his imaginary cup to his cousin.

Donghyuck pretended to pour some tea for Jeno before turning to Renjun. “What about you, Injun?”

“No, thanks. I’m full. I just want some milk.”

“I’m afraid we don’t have milk right now.”

“Give me the tea, sis,” Jaemin suddenly said.

“You should stop being dense and step up, Na Jaemin. Go for it before it’s too late. Renjun and I are tired of your push-and-pull game. But I know someone who’s way tired of it,” Donghyuck said all of that in one breath.

Jaemin blinked. “Um,” he said eloquently.

“H-he asked for some tea, Hyuck,” Jeno said as if his cousin misunderstood something.

“That _is_ the tea, honey,” Renjun said matter-of-factly.

“This tea party is cancelled,” Jaemin sulked. He had his bottom lip jutted out.

“Now, now, Nana,” Donghyuck cooed. “Let’s go somewhere else, okay?”

(He earned a slap from the younger boy because he didn’t wanted to be called that. Jaemin said he outgrew that childish nickname already. Whatever tickled his pickle.)

  
—

  
They went in pairs. Renjun and Donghyuck decided to visit the music room while Jeno and Jaemin went up to their classroom when they were first years.

Jeno’s footsteps were heavy as they climbed up the stairs and it echoed throughout the hallways. He halted his steps when Jaemin grabbed his arm out of the blue. This time, his heart stopped beating all at once and dropped straight to his stomach. It wasn’t the Jaemin effect; who in their right mind would grab someone’s arm without warning in the dark when they were doing something illegal?

Jeno let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was just Jaemin. He wasn’t just about to admit how much of a pussy he was right now. Jeno wouldn’t lie, the dark really was scary.

He shined his flashlight at the boy. Jaemin had a finger to his lips, motioning him to keep quiet.

“What is it?” Jeno whispered, his heartbeat gradually getting faster as seconds passed by.

“Keep quiet,” Jaemin whispered back, index finger still against his chapped lips. Wait, his lips weren’t chapped anymore. Oh right, it must be the new chapstick that he bought this afternoon. Wait a fucking second, why was Jeno staring at his lips?

He hoped Jaemin didn’t see anything. Suddenly, his heart was beating rapidly for another reason. “Why?” he finally asked.

“We’re ninjas,” Jaemin said with a playful smile. His hand found its way to Jeno’s and he started to tiptoe up the stairs.

Jeno played along.

  
—

  
Donghyuck pushed the door to the music room open. “Oh, I missed this place,” he fake cried.

“You came here to play the piano so much that I started to wonder who really was your best friend. Was it us or this piano?” Renjun admitted as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Donghyuck didn’t answer him. He only went to sit in front of the piano and opened its case. He looked at Renjun expectantly.

“What?” the older boy was confused. He then suddenly remembered something and let out an “Ah~” before going to stand next to Donghyuck.

“Do you still remember the song we always played?” he looked up at Renjun.

“Vaguely, I think? Maybe I’ll remember if you play it.”

Donghyuck started playing the song that he had loved throughout his childhood, and had loved even more when he met Renjun in high school.

At this exact place, in this exact room.

Donghyuck had stayed inside the music room one day during break to play the piano. Renjun must’ve asked Jeno and Jaemin where he was because how else would the boy find him there? Renjun had only gone to school there for only two weeks, he wouldn’t be able to know Donghyuck that much yet.

He surprised Donghyuck by applauding when the latter finished playing a piece by Beethoven. He hadn’t noticed someone had even entered the room.

“Oh. Hi, Renjun,” he said to hide his embarrassment.

“That was great! You’re amazing, Donghyuck.”

“I told you ‘Hyuck’ is fine. Thanks, by the way. Um... I heard you can sing. Wanna try?”

“Did Nana tell you that? That idiot... it was supposed to be a secret,” the older boy scowled.

“Why? I’m sure you’re a great singer if Nana says so.” Donghyuck assured him and started to play a song.

Renjun’s face lit up. “Oh, I know this song!”

Donghyuck paused. “Really? This is my favorite. I grew up listening to it.” He played the introduction again as Renjun stood beside him.

_Wise men say only fools rush in_.

Donghyuck must’ve been a fool then.

_But I can’t help falling in love with you_.

Huang Renjun’s voice was angelic. If Donghyuck had a crush on him, then now he was falling harder. This was bad.

_Shall I stay?_

He tried to focus on the keys on his fingertips. He didn’t want to mess up. He _couldn’t_. He needed to hear more of Renjun singing.

_Would it be a sin if I can’t help falling in love with you?_

Shit.

“Why’d you stop?” Renjun’s voice was hoarse a bit from the singing.

_‘Because it hit so close to home.’_

“Because... I got distracted. You have a beautiful voice,” he blushed. That wasn’t the actual reason but it wasn’t a lie either.

Renjun scoffed but laughed afterwards. “Thanks but it’s nothing compared to yours. I mean it. Don’t even try to argue with me or I’ll strangle you.”

“Y-you really mean it?”

“Uh, I won’t actually strangle you if you–”

“About my voice?”

“Yeah, of course, silly. Have you heard yourself? You should become a singer, I swear. I’ll be your #1 fan.”

Ever since that day, Renjun would always come to find him there whenever he wasn’t with Jeno and Jaemin during break and they would sing the same song over and over again each day.

Perhaps Lee Donghyuck had fallen too hard for this Chinese boy and there was no turning back.

(He lied to Jeno when he said he had a crush on Renjun when they were second years. He liked the older boy one week into their friendship. Some things are better left untold.)

He was brought back to reality when a hand covered his and made him stop playing. He looked up at Renjun curiously.

“Harmonize with me.”

He smiled. “Your wish is my command. From the start?”

“No. Just from where we left off.”

_Take my hand, take my whole life too,_  
_For I can’t help falling in love with you._

They maintained eye contact until they finished singing that line and ended the song.

“Wow,” Renjun’s voice was a bit hoarse, just like it used to be whenever he finished singing.

“Wow, indeed.”

Some things never change. Keyword: _some_.

Donghyuck had moved on from his puppy love with Renjun and now was in love with Mark. But they still hugged each other after finishing the song, whispering praises to each other about how good they were.

Huang Renjun was only a good friend to Donghyuck now, no longer someone he was romantically interested in. But that didn’t change the fact that he was Donghyuck’s motivation throughout high school and also the person who made him want to pursue his dream as a singer.

  
—

  
“Class 1-A!!” Jaemin exclaimed happily when they finally reached said class, throwing away his ninja persona.

Jeno released the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in for the sake of keeping quiet to keep up with Jaemin’s ninja shenanigans. He watched as the younger boy open the door to the classroom before entering himself and closing the door.

“Where did we sit in this class? Was it by the windo– no, don’t!”

Jeno flinched and retracted his hand from the light switch. Jaemin really needed to stop doing that; making his heart stop beating (or was his heart just skipping like 18 beats that it seemed like it stopped?), under literally any circumstance be it because he was too cute or Jeno was one hell of a scaredy cat (which, in fact, wasn’t his fault, okay. It was almost midnight and they were in a building with no lights on).

“It’s dark, Nana.”

“Did you just– I’ll let that slide since we’re here,” he gestured around the classroom. “It’s fine, we don’t need the light. See, there’s moonlight here,” he then gestured towards the desks by the windows. “Which brings me to my previous question; where did we sit in this class?”

“By the window if I’m not mistaken...” Jeno’s words trailed off, uncertain.

Jaemin immediately went to sit on the table in the third row as if one whole chair didn’t exist right there. “You sat behind me, right?”

“Yeah. Injun sat in the table beside me and Hyuck was in the front row,” Jeno recalled back as he went to the younger boy and sat on the table as well.

Na Jaemin was beautiful. Like, out-of-this-world beautiful. The moonlight flooded through the window and basked the room in a pale glow. And Jaemin looked like a literal angel in the dark classroom, the moonlight illuminating his features and somehow making him appear even more ethereal than he ever had been before.

That was right. This classroom. This was where Jeno realized that what he felt towards his childhood friend wasn’t platonic.

He didn’t know at first. While they were growing up, Jaemin had always been a touchy kind of person. The boy would get along well with anyone with his bright personality, and the cherry on top was his physical contact with everyone. It was just nice, not too much to make anyone uncomfortable. Jeno figured out that the physical contact was what made people feel closer to him.

He had watched as Jaemin made a lot of friends wherever he was. However, the younger boy never strayed away from him and Donghyuck and he was grateful for that.

Na Jaemin wasn’t an ignorant person.

Something felt off when he was 16, in this classroom. Jeno never really minded whenever Jaemin got too close with anyone. But in high school, he felt his heart clench whenever he saw the boy being touchy with other people, even his cousin. He even went on the internet to search up what the feeling meant.

16 year old Lee Jeno was naïve, alright.

Turns out what he was feeling was jealousy. And apparently it was because you like someone. So... Jeno had a crush on Jaemin, that was what this article was saying, right?

He refused to accept the fact but he couldn’t push it to the back of his head when his heart started doing somersaults and shit whenever he saw Jaemin or whenever the latter talked to him or whenever someone mentioned Jaemin’s name or–

Jaemin. Just Jaemin. That was enough to make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

“Jeno?”

“I’m sorry, did you say something?”

Jaemin looked genuinely concerned. He was frowning. “Are you okay? You seem... out of it,” he said as he put his hand on Jeno’s forehead.

He pulled Jaemin’s hand away from his forehead and cupped it in his hands. Fuck this, it was now or never.

“Jaemin, I need to tell you something.”

Jaemin tensed up. “What is it? Why do you sound so serious? Did I do something wrong? I’m sor–”

“I like you, Na Jaemin. No, scratch that. I’m _in love_ with you,” Jeno confessed. He gripped Jaemin’s hand in his tightly, afraid of the reaction he would get. He tried his best to look into the younger boy’s eyes and not anywhere else.

Jaemin was silent for two minutes. It felt like an eternity for Jeno. He could hear the sound of his own heart beating and could feel the blood rushing through his whole body.

“For how long...? When?” he finally asked.

“Eight years ago. In this classroom.”

“Lee Jeno, you fucking idiot,” Jaemin spat out angrily and hit Jeno’s chest _hard_. Were those tears that Jeno was seeing in Jaemin’s eyes? “Why did you make me wait that long? I’m in love with you, too,” he said before pulling Jeno by his shirt roughly into a kiss.

The kiss, however, was very sweet and gentle. Jeno fell from the table when Jaemin grabbed him but he managed to balance himself in time, his lips never leaving Jaemin’s. He placed his hands on the table on each side of the younger boy’s hips.

Jaemin’s lips tasted like... peaches? It was soft and Jeno was sure he wouldn’t get enough of it. He tilted his head a bit more, nose brushing against Jaemin’s cheek as the latter pulled him closer and wrapped his arms around Jeno’s neck. The older boy placed his hand on Jaemin’s nape to get him closer, to taste more of him.

Their mouths were moving in sync and Jeno wished they could do this forever. The kiss was full of love, need and passion. It was also innocent, no tongue or biting. He was grateful for that because Jeno wasn’t sure if he could hold back if Jaemin did anything more than that. His insides were on fire. Oh, how he had been wanting to kiss Na Jaemin all this while. He never thought the time would finally come.

Jaemin let out soft moans and it only made Jeno try to close the already non-existent distance between them. Jeno felt like he had everything he wanted in the whole universe. Nothing else mattered when he had Na Jaemin.

Finally, Jaemin pulled away reluctantly to breathe and rested his forehead on Jeno’s, panting heavily and lips glistening. He wrapped his legs around the older boy’s waist and pulled him in. He smiled.

Jeno mirrored his smile. He pressed another chaste kiss on Jaemin’s lips and they stared at each other for a long time under the moonlight in the classroom.

“Are you crying?”

Jaemin quickly tried to wipe away the tears welling up in his eyes with the back of his hands before they could fall but it only made his cheeks wet. “It’s because I’m so happy,” he sniffed.

Jeno kissed both of his eyes. “Why, baby?”

He earned another punch to his chest from Jaemin because of the pet name. “Because I love you so much.”

Jeno pecked the younger boy’s lips. “I love you, too, Jaemin.”

“So... can I finally call you my boyfriend now?” he bit his bottom lip to stop himself from smiling widely.

“But I think we’re soulmates. We’ve been together since forever. Aren’t you tired of me, though?”

They kissed for a while again, Jeno playing with Jaemin’s soft locks. He could feel the younger boy trying his best to not smile on Jeno’s lips. His heart was swelling so bad and he felt like he could just combust out of happiness.

Na Jaemin was the cause of it and Jeno won’t complain one bit.

After pulling away, Jaemin placed a kiss on the spot under Jeno’s right ear and embraced him before saying, “I’ll never get tired of you, Lee Jeno.”

(Jeno kissed a boy and he liked it, the taste of Jaemin’s peach chapstick.)

(Looked like Jaemin didn’t get a new chapstick that day for nothing. But maybe he didn’t need anymore chapsticks when he had Jeno to moisten his lips for him.)

Na Jaemin was the love of his life and Jeno had everything he wanted in the world.

  
—

  
“You two seem awfully happy,” Renjun stated, pointing an accusatory finger at Jeno and Jaemin. His eyes turned into slits as if scheming so he could get the answer.

The four of them met up in the locker area before sneaking back out together. Jeno and Jaemin holding hands wasn’t a rare sight. But something about it at the moment seemed off. Renjun couldn’t quite wrap his finger around it. He scanned Jeno from top to bottom. Nope, nothing new. He then looked at Jaemin.

_Oh._

“Nana, did you forget to apply chapstick on your lips?”

The reason Renjun knew about the new chapstick was because Jaemin had dragged him along into the convenience store that day. He even asked the older boy’s opinion on which flavor to get.

“I’m not 16 year old Nana anymore, I’m grown up!” Jaemin pouted. “I did apply chapstick.”

“Then why are your lips so fucking dry?” Donghyuck asked.

Jaemin’s eyes widened but the look of panic went as fast as it came. “The chapstick must’ve dried up,” he lied.

“Chapsticks don’t dry up on your lips, Nana,” Jeno had a knowing smirk on his face. He earned a smack on his arm.

Mayhaps Renjun already knew what went down.

  
—

  
They arrived in front of Jaemin’s house at 1:45AM. They sat at his doorstep to have a little chat and Renjun distributed the polaroids they had taken throughout the trip. One was during the first day where they took pictures by the roadside, another was when they were at the beach, the one at the Kakao Friends store, the Namsan Tower and many more. His Instax camera did come in handy.

(Renjun had shoved the one where all four of them wore the shades Donghyuck had bought them into someone’s hands, he didn’t remember who. He hated those shades with a passion).

After he was done, Jaemin stood up followed by Jeno.

“This trip was great, I’m so glad we agreed to go for it. Thanks to Jeno and Donghyuck for treating Injun and I. And special thanks to Jeno again for driving us the whole time,” he pulled Jeno to give the older boy a kiss on the cheek. It seemed like he wanted his nose flat on his face with the way he pressed Jeno’s cheek to his face. “Bye, guys. Good luck for finals!” he said and hugged Renjun and Donghyuck.

“This is my stop,” said Jeno. He took his bag from the boot. “And, Hyuck? Tell your dad thanks for letting us borrow his car.”

“Wait, what?!” Renjun and Donghyuck said simultaneously.

“Goodnight, bro,” he hugged his cousin. “Goodnight, Injun,” he patted the older boy’s head. “Good luck for finals,” he said and waved to both of them before entering the house and leaving the two boys dumbfounded.

“I... I was supposed to crash at Jaemin’s,” Renjun spoke up finally.

“I know. Then, wanna sleep at mine tonight?” Donghyuck offered.

“God, yes please.”

They stared at the closed front door for another five minutes before Renjun turned around to face Donghyuck.

“What? Stop looking at me like that, I’m getting creeped out.”

“You know what that means?”

The younger boy furrowed his brows and shook his head.

“I won the bet! They kissed and now they’re a thing!” Renjun whisper-shouted, grabbing Donghyuck’s shoulders and shaking him violently. “I told you that by the end of this trip they would kiss and become boyfriends!!”

“Anyone smart enough can tell,” his voice came out shaky. “Also, it was part of my doing, by the way.”

Renjun stopped shaking him. “What. But you said Jeno would be ‘one fucking idiot’ and won’t confess his feelings.”

“I may or may not have given my cousin a speech in the car about confessing to Jaemin,” he shrugged. “Maybe I played myself. But I don’t mind. I took one for the team, didn’t I?” he smiled. “I just want the best for him.”

Renjun pouted and removed his hands from Donghyuck’s shoulders. “It doesn’t feel like I really won then...”

“Cheer up, Injun. I’ll still treat you to hot pot.”

“It doesn’t feel right.”

“Shush, a bet is a bet. This is #HuangRenJun1stWin, right?”

Renjun brightened up. “Yup! #HuangRenJun1stWin.”

  
—

  
Jaemin didn’t need sleep when Jeno was in front of him. They were in his bed, snuggled up closely. The moonlight flooding through his bedroom window illuminated Jeno’s perfect face and he was _glowing_. Jeno didn’t just have a handsome face, it was _nice_ and _perfect_. God really did spend a lot of time on him.

Jaemin couldn’t tell whether the older boy was asleep already or not. His breathing was even and he looked so peaceful that Jaemin wanted to protect him, see him grow healthy and tell his friends and neighbors about Lee Jeno. He had never felt so in love in his whole life.

He was ecstatic when Jeno confessed back in the classroom but something in him broke so he couldn’t respond properly at first. The power Jeno held...

Jaemin also started tearing up out of happiness. That was embarrassing lmao. But then again, he decided now that he didn’t have anything to hide from the boy. They’d been together ever since he could remember. Were they 3 or 4? Or maybe ever since they were born? He wasn’t sure.

His Ryan plushie was somewhere on his floor. Jaemin didn’t need it anymore when he had Jeno by his side.

“Are you staring at me, Jaemin?” Jeno suddenly asked, eyes still closed.

“Can’t help staring at my boyfriend.”

Jeno laughed and opened his eyes. “Go to sleep, love. We have to study tomorrow.”

Jaemin pecked his nose. “Okay, then. I love you,” he shifted his position on the bed.

“What are you doing? Why are you turning your back to me?”

“Spoon me,” was all Jaemin replied.

“No, _you_ spoon me.”

“But I’m the little spoon!”

“I’m the little spoon, too!” Jeno argued.

Jaemin turned around to face his boyfriend. “So... no spooning?”

Jeno’s eyes turned into crescents as he started to laugh again. “Just kidding. I’ll spoon you.”

Jaemin cheered. “I love you.”

“I love you more. Now shut up and go to sleep.”

Jaemin had everything he had ever wished for and that was Lee Jeno.

  
—

  
Renjun was the last one out of the squad to finish his papers. They all promised to wait for him after he finished his last paper to go and celebrate somewhere.

Lucky asses... at least they were thoughtful enough to want to wait for him so they could celebrate despite having finished their papers already in the previous week. Yeah, Renjun did love his friends.

He was walking to the exam hall but was too distracted to see where he was going. Renjun was trying to memorize his notes for the last time when someone bumped into him, sending his notebook flying out of his hands.

“Oh shit!” a voice said. The person immediately went to pick up his notebook. “Bruder, geht es dir gut?”

Renjun couldn’t stop staring and his mouth was hanging open. He saw an angel. Who was this guy? Why was he so good-looking? Did he just speak Russian? French? Renjun might need to educate himself on that. Why was his heart beating wildly? Perhaps he might have found the one for him. And that person was right in front of him.

“I’m sorry, here’s your book,” the boy said again. Renjun noticed that he had an accent.

“Can you speak Mandarin?” Renjun asked hesitantly in his native language.

The boy’s face lit up. “I do!” he replied in Mandarin.

“How do you like your eggs in the morning?”

“I’m sorry?”

“I mean, uh. Who are you? What’s your name? Why haven’t I seen you before? When is your last paper? Do you wanna go out with me? Today, I mean.”

And that was the story of how Huang Renjun ditched his friends to hang with a (beautiful) boy he had just met (and fallen in love with?) on the same day.

 

 

_**[Three gays & a bi]** _

_**fullsun:** huang renjun where the FUCK are you_

_**jaem:** did u die_

_**moominjun:**_ _sorry gays you guys can go first. or maybe we could celebrate another day_

_**fullsun:** i dont get it_

_**jaem:**_ _yea we promised to celebrate today after your last paper??_

_**moominjun:** i found the love of my life im with him rn omg do u think xuxi ge will approve of him? should i take his last name when we get married later? ive never seen anyone so beautiful before suddenly im schnappi das kleine krokodil_

_**fullsun:** what the hecc_

_**jenojam:** hes whipped your honor_

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> if you managed to read up to here, I just wanna say thanks so much for reading and I love you!!! <3 this was one long ass ride im sorry bye (idk if i made it obvious enough but can you guess who the guy was?)


End file.
